Missing Ninjas
by Under a Rain Cloud
Summary: She lived most of her life with no parents, and no hope of escaping the creul Hyuga Main Branch. But one night everything changes. Is she prepared to leave everything behind for the small chance to find the happiness that left her behind?...PLZ REVIEW!
1. Chapter 1

**This is my newest story, and is what has pulled me out of my writer's block. It's kind of a combo of a bunch of ideas and may have a few kinks, but if you help me I know it will be great. So just give it a try and please leave a review. I don't care if its flame or constructive criticism or just plain stuff, just say something. I really appreciate it.**

**Oh and I own nothing but my characters…**

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She stumbles out of bed as the rays of light stream through her open window. She stretches, bones cracking as her muscles are pushed and pulled. The hair falling in her face is brushed away by one of her practiced hands and she moves over to a small stand with a mirror and a few drawers to hold clothes. Taking a hair band from the surface she twists her long dark hair into a neat bun, and ties it off loosely at the base of her neck. The bangs fall in her face again so she pushed them to the side of her face as she fastened a set of bandages around her forehead, then ties her forehead protector on.

She pulled open a drawer, taking out a pair of gray pants, and then searching through a few more drawers for a blue long sleeved Chinese style shirt. It falls over her body loosely, four frog ties at her neck, and synched at her wrists, where buttons then run up to her elbows. A worn black belt goes around her waist, successfully keeping the cloth closer to her skin and out of the way. On the belt she attaches a pouch of weapons securely at her hip. Another bag is then strapped around her left leg.

She looks into the mirror one last time, where she sees herself with absolutely no emotion or life, and walks out of the door and down the halls of the Hyuga Compound without a single word.

This was no place for her. The silent rooms, watching eyes, outdated rules only served to make her life miserable. She was told that her father's young life was much like her own, but she doesn't believe that. The time she knew him, even though she was very small, he had always been so kind and untroubled. She remembered his eyes very clearly, lighting up when her mother and her would see him. He would hold her tight, and tickle her until she cried. But as she looked back, much older now, she supposed it was only her childish innocence.

He really must have hated it, here in the compound. She sure did. And hadn't he spent his whole life trapped in these white rooms? Where as she, was considered his bastard child for most of her young years only forced into this place for part of her life. Her mother had kept her away as long as she could, even going as far as to cover one of her eyes which carried the Hyuga Bloodline. But when she was old enough to go to the academy, and people started to ask questions, her parent acted. They got married, and when her father was about to leave the compound, her great uncle Hiashi forbade it.

All she could remember was one day she was happy with her mother in a very small apartment (which she thought to be the biggest house in all the world) and the next she was alone in a quiet white room with hushed whispers surrounding her, following her.

She had seen the mark on her father's forehead many times, but never really cared to ask about it. But as she got older, and saw the look in her mother's eyes when her father took off the wrapping to reveal the mark, she knew it was something to be wary of.

One day both of her parents went on a mission which was something that had never happened before. One was always there to look after her, to keep her safe. She later learned that it was a very dangerous mission, and one that only her parents would be able to complete.

They left early in the morning, giving her a kiss at the gate and waving until they were out of sight. "Be good Haruko," they said "We'll be back soon."

But they never came back…

Hardly any time had passed before she was whisked away and marked. She remembers the day clearly because it was the same day of her parent's funeral. The same day they were etched into the rock of brave ninjas.

Neji and Tenten Hyuga. Honored Ninjas. Beloved Comrades and Parents.

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"Kami Fumio! We've done this a thousand times and you still haven't gotten it!"

"I'm sorry, please try it again brother." Fumio said, breathing heavily with one knee on the ground.

"Why am I even training with you? You're no match for me. You're completely useless."

"Masaru-san, please try again."

It was then a blur of fists and weapons. The two twisted and moved around the private training area of the Hyuga main branch. Sounds of clanging and slaps could be heard all around them as they jumped around, using up the whole space.

Haruko slid the door open after slipping on her shoes and stepped out into the fresh air of the early morning. The sounds of fighting drifted to her ears and she turned to make her way over to the arena. She watched silently as the two brothers fought. Following their bobbing blond heads as they pushed palms into each other.

Masaru, the younger twin wore a black tank top at the moment, and off to the side Haruko saw the orange jacket he usually wore over it hanging on a branch of a small sakura tree. His light gray pants fit tightly with a strap of weapons on each leg. He wore no shoes and stepped lightly and gracefully in the Hyuga dance, hitting his twin in quick succession. When he paused, breathing heavily she saw his deep eyes, marking a strong Hyuga Bloodline follow his brother's quick movements. Haruko narrowed her eyes as she watched the smirk form on the boys face. He was never her favorite cousin.

Fumio, the older and much kinder of the two mimicked his brother movements, allowing his brother to slap and bruise his pale skin and making his brother think he was so much more superior. His eyes, blue like his father's flicked over to her and she saw him smile. His pants, similar to her own in color, fit much looser and his shirt was a black T-shirt with the Hyuga clan and village symbol etched in white in the center. Under that shirt he wore a gray long sleeve turtle neck with a black checker board stitching at the end of the sleeve.

One started to spin and the arena was filled with dust. When it cleared the twins stood apart from each other panting. Masaru stood straight and planted his hands on his hips.

"Alright, I think that's good for now." He said "I think you've had enough of a beating."

He grabbed his jacket, threw it on and walked off. Fumio wiped the dirt from his pants and shirt and walked over to Haruko.

"Haruko-san, how are you?" Fumio asked,

"Fumio-sama, there is no need for you to use formality with me." She said

"The only way I'll stop is if you stop first."

"You know I can't do that."

"You sound so cold, Haruko-san. I know you are a chuniin now, but show a bit more emotion." Fumio said "You're eyes are so much prettier when they shine."

"Fumio-sama," she turns away "Are you training with your team today?"

"Yes, were you on your way? Did I delay you?" he asked worriedly

"No, not at all." She said "Walk with me then."

They walked together, through the dirt streets of Konoha and past all the simple street vendors, who were just setting up their shops. People waved as they past, some to her but most to Fumio. She didn't have the same kind of quality that Fumio had. He had his father's determination and bluntness at time and his mother's kindness. Haruko, as a child was very outgoing and happy but with her parent's death she had changed into, what most people said, a Neji 2.0.

Haruko really didn't mind people thinking this way. Really she was so different from what most people thought of her. If she ever glanced at a flower, people may assume that it caught her attention for a moment before she brushed it off, when really she had stared at it for a lifetime. She had seen that flower in a thousand different ways, searched through her entire being to find what that little flower meant. She had savored that flower, and kept it perfectly preserved in her mind forever.

She walked beside Fumio with her hands in her pockets as they made their way into the woods and he talked about simple things. She listened and watched as he talked with his hands, making whatever story he was telling so much better. She would comment and even tell a bit of her own story, keeping her hands in her pockets and thinking that Fumio must be very bored with hers. Soon they came to a fork in the path and went their separate ways and to their separate teams.

Her path continued on for another mile or two and she took her time getting there. Haruko listened to the birds sing and the sound of the trees as a light breeze blew past. She looked at the sky as she walked, and followed the clouds with her eyes. The tree cleared out and she was in her training field. Dummies pierced with weapons lined the perimeter. Trees were marred with cuts and deep gashes in the earth stood as her team's signature.

She went and sat under a tree to meditate for a little bit and wait for the rest of her team. She could hear the wind and smell the comforting smell of fall on its way. She heard steps, twigs breaking but kept her eyes closed. The steps came closer and stopped in front of her. She gave up on meditation and opened her eyes, following the set of legs up to her teammates face.

He wore the same smile she had always seen on him. One hand was in his pocket and the other was at his forehead in a salute.

"Hey Haruko!" he looked around "Where's Kaito?"

"Not here yet, Yukiko." She said

Both heard a bark, and Haruko turned her attention to the little brown dog that came running in from the foliage. He barked and bark, running over to them and then in a circle around the two. She smirked when the dog jumped into her lap, nudging his head into her arm.

"Kana, you crazy little pup."

"Hey!" Yukiko and Haruko looked back up to see their last teammate.

He had his fan slung over his shoulder and a pair of sunglasses over his dark eyes.

"What are you two doing just standing there?" Kaito said "Let's get to work!"

"Shouldn't we wait for Sensei?"

"He won't praise us for our youthfulness if we wait for him." Haruko added with a smirk

"Oh, well then we better get started." Yukiko said his words laced with sarcasm.

They set up their dummies and Yukiko and Kaito start a spar. Haruko practiced her aim, and before long their sensei had arrived.

"Oh my students! You are all so youthful!" Lee shouted continuing in some gibberish, they thought to be something like "To come and find you training so youthfully!"

"Thanks sensei," They chorus.

"Alright!" he pumps his fists in the air, "let's do 100 laps around the field for a warm up and then will run up to the Hokage's tower on our hands!"

"Yes Sensei." They sigh, and follow their excited teacher around the dummies and through the trees before heading off to the Hokage Tower.

With Lee being her teacher, Haruko was constantly reminded of her parents. He would tell stories about them with tears streaming down his cheeks. He would tell her she looked just like her mother and had her father's eye (pun intended) as he clapped her on the back after a successful mission. Sometimes it was painful, and other times it was more them welcomed, and served to pull her out of a deep hole created by a demanding uncle and rude cousin. When her head would ache from the seal his words soothed her, comforted her.

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It was late when they finished their training. But with a rumble from Yukiko's stomach, Lee had offered to treat them all for a bowl of ramen for all their hard work that day. No one objected simply because they were hungry and had nowhere better to go. Home was not a welcoming place for any of them. Whether it be Haruko and her caged compound, Yukiko and his wonton mother, Kaito and his absent parent, or Lee with memories of his fallen teammates.

The soup was hot and the conversation was light. The experience was enjoyable, and lasted a long time. Hours pasted and the group noticed they were keeping the vendor open much later then he would have liked. So they finished and went off in their desired directions. Kaito went to the North, Lee to the southwest, and Haruko and Yukiko to the east.

His house was close to hers, and she would go there often to escape her own 'home'. He didn't seem to like it, but she found it much better than spending an evening with her uncle Hiashi glaring daggers at her.

She looked over at him as they walked. His head was held high, and his strides were proud and purposeful. The red triangles under his eyes shown in the moonlight, and his dark brown hair moved slightly as a breeze blew past. His hands were in his pockets, like hers, and Kana skipped along at his feet. His katana, which was ties at his waist, was wrapped in a gray material that was darker then the shirt her wore. His pants were black with only one pouch of weapons strapped around a leg.

"Haruko?"

He looks at her quizzically. He caught her staring, and she forces a blush away.

"Hn, I was-" she would have continued if she hadn't noticed the Hyuga gate.

It was open, like always, but in the lock was a fresh flower. She stared at it, hearing Yukiko's voice but not reacting to it. Her eyes scan the building, seeing nothing until she comes to her window. Her eyes stopped on another flower, which sits on the windowsill. She stops walking, stops thinking, and just watches. Yukiko finally grabs her arm, pulling her from whatever state she was just in.

"Haruko, what's wrong?"

"Someone is in my room."

She starts to walk again and he follows. Both are armed as they walk through the halls and to her room. They stop once they get there and listen intently for any kind of noise, but hear nothing. Slowly Haruko's hand reaches to slide the door open, and the two jump in quickly and toss their weapons at whatever is in the room. Haruko hears a thunk and realizes that her weapon has hit the wood of her wall, and her eyes snap to the two figures sitting on her bed. One of them switches on the light on her side table and she stares in their faces with disbelief.

Sitting on her bed, seemingly unchanged by the years, are her parents.

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So, how was it? Please tell me what you think, and if you like it the more reviews I get the faster I update.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two. Maybe I should have mentioned in the first chapter that there would be a lot of Oc's but, whatever, we're past that right? Anyway, I present chapter two and hope you enjoy it.

I do not own Naruto…

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Her parents, sitting on her bed calmly. They both looked so unchanged, so perfectly like she remembered. Her father's kind eyes and a small warm smile, and her mother and her deep brown eyes full of love. Haruko didn't know what to do. Her mind was frozen and racing at the same time. She was short circuiting with absolutely no idea what to do. Yukiko stood beside her, confused with his mouth in a thin line and his eye brows furrowed. He hadn't known her parents well before they died…They died, but were sitting there now. How could that be?

Her ninja instincts kicked in and she quickly grabbed two kunai from her pouch and threw it at the invaders. Once it left her hand she moved to activate her kekkei genkei, searching for the chakra used to make this genjutsu. Her left eye blazed with the byackugan, and her hands lifted to form the seal that would break the illusion. But as her eyes scanned the room and all around them, she found nothing.

Her hands fell to her side, and she deactivated her byackugan. She stepped back until she hit the wall, and let out a loud sigh. After all these years she hadn't broken down when Lee had spun fantastical stories about her parents, or when the Hyuga elders taunted her with harsh words about her parents cowardice and uselessness, how she had inherited it from them. But now with her parents here, it was like staring into a photograph, and it was breaking her. Either everything she knew was a lie or this was a trick.

"What is going on?" Yukiko stepped up, moving and standing in front of Haruko with his arm out to protect her. "Who are you people?"

"Haruko's parents." Her mother said standing and walking towards them.

"Stop right there," Haruko said. "This is a trick. Leave before we kill you."

Haruko pulled out another kunai and a few other weapons. Yukiko unsheathed his katana and held it out in front of him. Haruko moved up to stand next to Yukiko, their shoulders nearly touching. Both were ready but did not move.

"Haruko, I know this may be a lot to take in-" her mother began but Haruko cut her off.

"No it's not. This is a trick. I may only have one Byackugan, but I can see that."

"Haruko, let me explain. We've come all this way."

"No," Haruko hissed "I'm not a fool! And we are not weak, do not underestimate our intelligence."

"Just tell us why you're here." Yukiko added, quietly

"We've come to take Haruko home with us."

"She's not going anywhere with you," Yukiko moved in front of Haruko again, his eyes narrowing.

"That is not your decision," Neji finally spoke, standing up from his spot on the bed and moving to stand beside Tenten.

"I said you won't be taking her anywhere and I'm not about to go back on my word!" Yukiko said, his grip on his katana tightening.

He moved quickly, stepping away from Haruko and clashing weapons with Neji. Haruko did not hesitate and whiped her kunai out to fight with her 'mother'. The pair fought at separate sides of the room, jumping over the bed and bumping into the cabinets. No one spoke or made any kind of verbal sounds, all you could hear was the clanging of the metal objects and light footsteps. Haruko kept glancing over at Yukiko as he spared with the man that looked liked the memory of her father, but her attention was quickly switched to the woman she was fighting with. She heard a heavy thud and a painful moan, and her eyes snapped over to Yukiko's figure slumping to the ground.

She twisted her body to stand in front of her teammate. Haruko flipped the katana lying on the ground with her foot, catching it skillfully in the air and holding it out in front of her. Neji and Tenten stood in before her, wielding weapons of their own and staring straight at her. Haruko stared back at them, tracing the lines of their faces with her eyes and going through every memory to find some kind of imperfection that would explain their appearance. Explain what she was seeing.

"Haruko, please just listen to us," Tenten said. "We've come such a long way to see you again."

"Why did you leave me in the first place?" Haruko found herself asking, the words tumbling from her lips before she could think clearly.

"To protect you," Neji said.

"Protect me from what? You sure didn't protect me from the elder, or the main branch."

"Did they curse you?" Neji asked harshly, dropping his weapon and coming over to Haruko.

She lifted the katana between them with white knuckles, preventing him from coming closer. Her eyes were burning, threatening a shower of tears if she continued.

"Of course they did! You think they would allow a bastard child coming from a nameless clan with half of the Hyuga bloodline to live with the main branch children of the Hokage?"

"Haruko,"

She shut her eyes, trying her hardest to keep the tears at bay. But her head hurt, her heart hurt, and her mind was being flooded by memories she had tried to erase for ten years(1). Haruko tried to keep the katana held high, but it was too heavy, and it fell to the floor with a loud clang. Sobs wracked her body as small whimpers escaped her lips. A pair of warm arms wrapped around her, and she flinched. Her eyes snapped open and she stared into the face of her father.

"I'm so sorry Haruko. I never wanted this to happen. I swore I would never leave you alone, I didn't want you to grow up without a father like I did." He whispered "I didn't want you to go through life with resentment for the main branch, or to live with such a terrible curse. But I failed you, and for that I am forever sorry."

She relaxed, taking a breath and calming herself. Her eyes snapped opened again and she pushed him away, remembering that this had to be a trick. This was not real. There was no way that she was actually in the presence of her parents. Haruko's foot caught on Yukiko's leg and she fell over, landing on her bottom with her legs draped over Yukiko. Tenten rushed over to her, and took Haruko's face in her hands.

"You're alright, just take a deep breath." She cooed

Haruko let out a cry. When she was young and hurt herself somehow, her mother reacted in this exact way. Tenten wiped the tears away from Haruko's cheek with her thumb. She smiled and pulled Haruko into a hug, swaying back and forth slightly as Haruko clutched tightly to Tenten's shirt.

"Oba-san!"

"It's alright, Haruko. It's alright."

After a few minutes, Haruko pulled away. She wiped the rest of her tears away and sighed. Tenten watched her with a happy little smile, her hands on her knees and head tilted to the slightly to the side. Haruko lifted her legs over Yukiko and scooted over to kneel beside him.

"I'm sorry; I don't usually act like this." She said calmly, looking over Yukiko to make sure he was okay.

"You don't have anything to apologize for," Neji said.

Haruko nudged Yukiko's shoulder, saying his name quietly. She saw his eye brows move together and his eye lids start to move and she stilled. His eyes opened and he looked straight at her, eyes unwavering and calm. Haruko felt heat rise to her cheeks with this, and quickly sat back. He sat up too, and immediately stiffened at the sight of Neji and Tenten. He hopped to his feet and kneeled in front of Haruko in a protective stance, a growl tumbling from his lips.

"Stay behind me Haruko," he said

She pushed him over, smirking at his attitude and calmly recapping what had happened. "They are going to explain."

"Isn't that what I said in the beginning, and you went and flipped out!" he threw his hands in the air, puffing out his cheeks childishly.

"Yukiko, I'm the pessimist here, so just shut up." Haruko added, crossing her arms and setting his chin defiantly.

"Haruko! You mustn't say those things! Your youth will vanish, and we can't have that. It must burn forever!" he put his hands on his hips, and moved his head that way lee would when he was encouraging them with one of his speeches.

"Yukiko," her smirk widened as she tried to keep from laughing. "Let's go outside, we'll wake everyone up with this talk."

Quietly all four of them walked through the Hyuga halls and out into the night air. By the gate, Kana sat patiently, his ears twitching every now and then as he waited for them to reach him. Yukiko bent down and scratched his ear quickly before standing and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Thanks for waiting Kana," he said.

"What a cute name," Tenten smiled

"Tenten, focus we came here for a reason." Neji said putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her tight.

Haruko tensed, sensing that whatever they would say was not going to be good. The way they were standing made her think that they were bracing themselves against some kind of strong wind. She looked down at her feet, fiddled with her hands for a moment before placing her hands in her pockets like Yukiko.

"Whatever you have to say, just say it," She whispered.

"You are living with our murders."

Her head snapped up so quick that Yukiko was afraid she had given herself some kind of whiplash. He nearly jumped and his hair on the back of his neck was standing on edge just like hers.

"The elders sent assassins after us when we left on the mission." Neji said "They thought we were dead and left us. We came to and managed to make it to a remote village near the village of Tea."

"You'd love it, Haruko. All those pretty flowers!" Tenten laughed, lifting Haruko's spirits a bit.

"Tenten," Neji sighed "We came to make sure you were safe. We see now that they only sealed you, and I assume you have come under no harm since then, right?"

"Right," Haruko answered.

"That's not true!" Yukiko cut in, "They've hurt you plenty of times, and that damned Masaru-san-"

"Yukiko, now is really not the time." Haruko interrupted.

"What have they done?"

Both Neji and Tenten broke from their embrace and stood closely in front of Haruko. Each took one of her arms and began to poke and prod her asking where she was hurt. Haruko pulled her arms away and puffed with anger.

"I am fine! I have lived with them for years now and am capable of handling any sort of injury I may get. Please, I am not a child; you do not need to exam me every minute to make sure I am alright."

"You are very right, Haruko. I apologize for both of us." Neji said, smirking.

"Oh Neji, she is so much like you." Tenten whispered "She even looks like you. Look, if her hair was down I'm sure she'd be your clone."

"Actually, Haruko gets that more than you would think." Yukiko said " She's probably the biggest tomboy ever."

"Yukiko," Haruko elbowed him in the side

"Haruko, this is important." Tenten said, breaking out of her nostalgic moment. "You may be in danger living with the Hyugas, and you may not be. We can't make you leave this village so suddenly, and can't force you into any unneeded danger. So please be careful, and we may not be able to see you for a long time."

"What?" Haruko gaped "I thought you were dead for most of my life and now you turn up to tell me that I may or may not be in danger just to leave again?"

"We're sorry, there is no other way." Neji said "Everyone thinks we are dead, and you can't become a missing ninja when you're just a Genin, you wouldn't last a minute against the trackers."

"I'm a chuniin, and so is my team." Haruko said "And the exams are a bit tougher than your days here Otto-san."

"Haruko!" Tenten said "We're sorry; we have no reason to take you with us."

Haruko looked down at her feet, and scraped them in the dirt. "Alright, I understand."

"That's my girl," Tenten said taking Haruko and pulling her into a tight hug. "Be careful, little fish."

Haruko laughed quietly, remembering the name her mother used when she was young. "Yes, I will."

She hugged her father and watched as the two walked off, Yukiko standing next to her.

"She does look like me, doesn't she," she thought she heard her father say, followed by a giggle from her mother before the two disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"I'm sorry, Haruko." Yukiko said, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to be. I've had a chance to know my parents, while you haven't really even had a stable home with your mother. I should have told you to go home instead of letting you some with me."

"Yeah, but seeing you happy makes me happy." He said, making her blush "And you know I can't let you go into some dangerous house with mysterious figure lurking in the dark."

"Speaking of a dangerous house, I should probably head off." Haruko said.

"Nah, you heard your mom, you gotta be careful. You can stay over; we can have a sleep over!"

Yukiko grabbed her hand and pulled her off in the direction of his house, which wasn't that far away. Kana followed behind, barking quietly as he went. Haruko continued to protest until they reached the door to his house. He fumbled in his pocket with his one free hand until he found the key. He open the door and ushered her in first, letting Kana in and closing the door. The hose was empty, silent and dark just like it always was when Haruko came over. She followed him upstairs and into his room, trying to hide a yawn when her eyes caught sight of Yukiko's soft bed.

"I'll take to floor," Yukiko said, going over to one of his chests to pull out a few blankets and a pillow.

"No, I will. This is your bed." Haruko said, going over and taking the pillow from him.

"Sorry, no. You're the guest, you get the bed." He smiled that toothy smile. "Oh, and you'll need something to wear."

"Well I'm not getting the bed and you're not getting the floor, so we'll have to share."

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End of chapter. I hoped you liked it, and please review!

I love every single thing I get from you readers and I really appreciate when you take the time to review. Also sorry for the lateness of the chapter, I was planning to have it out earlier, but school got in the way. Anyway, please review and have a nice day…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3…I'm a little disappointed with the amount of reviews, so my motivation for this story is going down. Is it really too much to ask for just one tiny review…

I do not own Naruto…

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The bed was warm, and the smell drifting into Yukiko's nose was nice. He shifted slightly, trying to fight the pull of waking to remain in this warm, wonderfully smelling world. But with the familiar sound of the door's click, his eyes were wide and his body stiff. Kana's little head popped up along with his and both stared at each other for a long moment. Yukiko could hear the tell-tale noises of his mother's return. She was throwing things down onto the counter and kicking off her shoes, knocking vases of flowers over in the process. He sighed, and turned to look out the window spanning the length of his wall.

The sun was still rising, creating a beautiful sun rise with red and gold light. A little ways to the right, Yukiko could see a thin slice of moon just about to fade away as the sun took control of the sky. A few puffy clouds floated by, blissfully ignoring the sun and moon's battle for dominance.

The blankets moved, and Yukiko looked down. Haruko laid curled up under the thick down blankets. Her long dark hair fell over the pillow and one hand gripped the blankets tightly, keeping them close to her chin. The other hand rested on the same pillow as her head, fingers twitching every now and then as he watched. Haruko's back faced him, and the longer he watched the more he noticed that she only took up a small fraction of the bed. His eyes shifted to the space around him, and his cheeks flushed. He must have been sprawled out in a huge X the whole night, because even now he had more than half of the shared sleeping spot.

A loud crash pulled Yukiko away from his thought, and his head snapped to the door. It was followed by a string of curses, and Yukiko winced. He looked back over to Haruko, hoping she wasn't stirred by the noise. Her eyes were open, but she was in the exact same position as before, as if she hadn't moved. He would have thought she was still asleep if he hadn't looked at her face first. He was about to call her name, when she turned and looked at him. She opened her mouth to speak, but a call from down stairs stopped them both.

"Yukiko! Get down here! I know you're awake!"

"Coming!" Yukiko answered with a shout, "Haruko, stay here I'll be back in a minute."

He threw the blankets away, pushing them quickly over to Haruko, who collected them a bit awkwardly, and ran out the door. He jogged down the small hall, and quickly made his way down the narrows set of stairs, meeting his mother in the kitchen.

She was leaning against the counter, drinking a steaming cup of coffee, with a bag resting on her hip. Some of her make-up was smeared, and the blonde hair she usually kept in a high pony tail lay lightly over her shoulders. Yukiko knew without a doubt that his mother had been out all night, either at a bar or at some man's house, just like most nights. Her blue eyes bore into him, and made him uncomfortable. It wasn't the first time Haruko had stayed the night, but it was the first time his mother had returned home before the two of them had already left the house.

"I'll be going on a mission for two months, so I want you to keep the house clean," she said.

"Alright, I clean most of the time anyway," Yukiko said.

"I also need you to go to forehead's house later to drop off some herbs, okay?" Ino said. "They're in that cabinet over there. Today is your day off, right?"

"Yeah, and I wanted to waste it on a trip to the Ulchiha's."

She gave him a look before downing the rest of her coffee and putting it in the sink. She fixed the bag on her shoulder and walked over to the door. She opened it and left, waving as she went. Yukiko followed her out, standing in the door frame and watching her until her form turned a corner and was out of sight. With a sigh he turned to go back inside, closing the door lightly behind him.

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Yukiko stepped back into his room. Haruko still sat on the bed, and was scratching Kana's ear as she looked out the window. He still hadn't heard her speak a word, and as the night's events played through his head Yukiko became concerned. What was going through her head right now? What could she be felling after learning all she did last night?

"Haruko?" Yukiko rested again the door, watching her with furrowed eye brows.

She looked over at him and blinked. She opened her mouth again just as she did before his mother had called him down, and he found himself leaning in hoping to hear a sound come from her lips.

"I've never actually met your mother before," she said.

The words shocked him enough that his body flung itself back against the door again with a loud thud. He smirk and one hand reached up to scratch the back of his head bashfully.

"Well, I guess there was never the time," he said.

"I've seen her before, early in the morning, when I'm running late for training. She always comes in with a stumble."

The only time she had known a drunken person was when Lee sensei would accidently have some sake when he treated them to some kind of meal. The Hyugas seldom drank, and when they did it was only enough to tingle the taste buds.

A look of pain flashed across Yukiko's face, and Haruko's eyes widened. She compared her mental notes of Lee sensei and Yukiko's mother and instantly looked away from him face and stared down at her hands.

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize," Haruko said.

"It's fine…I mean you have to live with those cold blooded Hyugas, so my Ma can't be nearly as bad as that."

"No, I was very wrong to have said that. Don't try and make me feel better for doing it."

"Haruko, it's alright, relax I'm not angry or anything. Okay?" he said, walking over and sitting down next to her. "Well Ma's gonna be gone for two months on a mission, so I can't introduce her until then."

Haruko looked up at him and smirked. "Okay, I can wait. I'm sure it will be a pleasure either way."

"Ha! Yeah of course!" Yukiko laughed loudly. "With such a handsome and strong man like me, I gotta come from someone the same."

Yukiko flexed his arms, trying to show off the little amount of muscle in his biceps. Haruko laughed and pushed him over and off the bed. He fell to the floor, only making Haruko laugh harder as the blankets she had piled around early fell with him and buried him. Kana jumped down and stood on the lump on the floor that was Yukiko, and Haruko clutched her stomach as the laughter poured out. Yukiko untangled himself and braced himself against the bed, sitting on his knees and resting his head on this arms which were folded on the bed. He watched her laugh with a happy smile, amazed and happy at the thought of how happy she was from such a juvenile act. It was really the simple things in life that made her happy, he guessed.

Her laughter died down and was soon followed by a loud grumble. Their eyes met in complete surprise, and Haruko quickly covered her face in embarrassment. Her stomach continued to roar, making Kana jump up next to her and tilt his head in puzzlement.

"Okay, feed the hungry girl!" Yukiko stood and extended his hand to Haruko, helping her off the bed. "Now what are you in the mood for? I'm not really sure what we have, but…"

He trailed off, his hand at his chin thinking of the items floating around in the cabinets. They walked down the hall and to the stairs and down into the kitchen. Haruko pulled at the clothes Yukiko had let her use the night before, and quickly sat down at a table chair when they reached the room.

Yukiko searched through the cabinets, seemingly making up a plan and pulling out a loaf of bread, sugar, and butter. Haruko watched as he pulled out a long flat pan and set it down on the stove, lighting the fire beneath it. He cut strips off the stick of butter and placed them down on the pan's surface. The butter moved around as it melted, coating the pan with a stick resistant skin. Yukiko cut four slices from the loaf and laid them down on the pan, pressing them down with a spatula. A sizzling sound filled the room, and Haruko's nose was filled with a wonderful smell.

"Yukiko? What are you making?" she asked

"French toast, you'll love it!" he answered.

"Can I help?"

"Sure,"

So, the two filled most of the early hours of the morning making French toast and eating said breakfast food. By the time they were done, the kitchen was a mess and the two were covered in powdered sugar or maple surup. Kana sat under the table, licking the sticky dressing off his paws with happy little sounds, as the two young ninjas over him held their aching stomachs.

"Why did we make so much?" Haruko asked

"Because you decided that more was better and poured the slapped the whole loaf of bread down onto the pan." Yukiko groaned

"More is better," Haruko smirked, closing her eyes and stretching in the old wooden chair.

Her hands extended into the air, and her back arched over the back of the chair. The sound of several places in her back cracking filled the room, and made Yukiko wince. Haruko's arms came back down and she swung them around her body a few times before jumping out of the chair to stand on the cool wooden floor.

"You're too young to be cracking like that," Yukiko said, standing to join her.

"Hn, can't really do anything about it, I suppose." Haruko mumbled

"You're not doing anything today, right?" Yukiko asked, taking the dirty plate from Haruko's hands and putting it in the sink.

"No. Have the day off, same as you."

"Yeah, well then do you think you could come to the Uchiha's house with me?" he asked, sending her his puppy eyes.

"No," she said flatly "Sorry, but I can't stand that place."

"Yeah, well neither can I."

He turned back to the sink slowly, sending a look to Kana. Kana's puppy whine filled the room, and Haruko folded.

"Alright, I'll go," she said between gritted teeth "I hated it when you do that. Gets me every time."

Yukiko grinned and threw a piece of French toast crust to Kana.

-

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-

With the herbs and a reluctant Haruko in hand, Yukiko knocked on the front door of the Uchiha Compound. Haruko was dressed in her usually attire again, and was fidgeting with the tiny frog clasps at her collarbone. She could hear shouts and things being thrown on the other side of the door, and took a deep breath just before the door opened.

The one to greet them was a tall girl with bright bumble-gum hair and onyx eyes. Both Yukiko and Haruko knew her to be one of the genjutsu users in their generation, and one with quite an attitude. She wore a long sleeve purple turtle neck with gray pants. Her long pink hair fell over her shoulders and her bangs were pushed to the side neatly. She had a smirk plastered on her face before she turned and yelled down the hall.

"Shinoske, you're girlfriend's here!"

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I want to thank anyone that reads and hopefully reviews this story, I really appreciated it…Also, I know the name Shinoske is used a lot for Sakura and Sasuke's kids, but whatever it fits him…


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4! Oh man, I can't say how happy I am…I got my reviews, and this story is on its way to being successful! I love all who read, and reviewed this little story, and I hope you continue to do so. Also I really want to thank Missanime!

Since you're anonymous, I can't thank you with a PM, so I'll thank you here. Your reviews were great, and I look forward to hearing from you in future chapters. I'm sorry in advance for all my cliffhangers that may happen later, and promise that there will be many, many more chapters. I'm so glad you like this, and thanks for all those awesome compliments! Thank You Missanime! XD

…And really sorry about the late update…damn school!

I own nothing…

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Both stiffened at the words. Yukiko's eye twitched, no matter how hard he tried to deny it. Haruko clenched her fists and resisted the urge to punch her elder in the face. Said girl turned from her twisted position at the door, and smiled wickedly at the two. She folded her arms across her chest and bent her body so she was eye level with Haruko.

"My little brother should be down in a minute," she said "That is who you were looking for right, girly?"

"Actually, we came to give this to Sakura-san," Yukiko interjected, holding up the bag of herbs.

"I can take-"

But before the girl could finish, an older woman came around the corner. She looked very similar to the girl Haruko and Yukiko were talking to, but with shorter hair and wiser eyes. She put her hand on her daughter's shoulder as she looked down at the two chuniin.

"Ageha, why are our guests still standing outside?" Sakura asked.

"They only came to drop something off, mother," Ageha said.

"Come on in, Kids," Sakura said, pulling her daughter over and allowing Yukiko and Haruko to come in.

She shut the door and led them to the kitchen, offering them both a seat. As soon as Ageha was free of her mother's arm, she disappeared, leaving Yukiko and Haruko alone with Sakura.

"So, what were dropping off?" She asked

"Ma told me to give this to you today. She's leaving on a mission." Yukiko handed her the herbs.

Sakura looked inside the bag, her eyes widening. She hurried from the room, and Yukiko and Haruko were left in the room with no idea what to do. Quickly, and silently them came to an agreement to leave.

They stood from their seats as quietly as they could, and started their way to the door. Once reaching the hallway, they were stopped, by none other than Shinoske. He leaned against the door arms crossed and face devoid of all emotion. Yukiko slapped his forehead, letting it slid down slowly, pulling the skin on his face with it and making a face at the Uchiha boy. Haruko sighed and continued to the door.

"Shinoske-san, we were just leaving." She said, stopping in front of him, and hoping her would move.

"Oh, but you've only just arrived." He said back, not moving an inch, "Why don't you stay a bit longer?"

"Sorry, can't do that. We have a lot to do today, right Haruko?" Yukiko said, taking Haruko's elbow, and pulling her a bit.

"Yeah, lots to do."

"Well then, I won't stand in your way," Shinoske said, but still unmoving.

The hall became deathly quiet, and a dark aura flooded the space. Yukiko felt like her was suffocation, but Haruko and Shinoske seemed unaffected. They were locked in a death stare with one another, both with their arms crossed and brows furrowed.

Then, as quickly as it had started it ended. Shinoske moved out of the way and opened the door for them. The two walked out together, Yukiko still holding Haruko's elbow, and Haruko still glaring. Shinoske stood in the doorway, and watched until Haruko turned away. Yukiko heard the door close, and let out a loud sigh.

"Man, what a creepy kid!"

"Yeah, you don't have to tell me twice." Haruko said.

"And why does he always stare at you like that?" Yukiko shivered "It's so…unsettling."

"Hn, unsettling. Good word," she said. "I always thought it was more disgusting."

Yukiko laughed, strongly agreeing, before suggesting that they go off to find their teammate.

Kaito was definitely the most devoted member of their team. Most likely he was either with Lee-sensei running laps or practicing his shadow wind technique in their training field. He had so much determination that Yukiko and Haruko constantly felt like they were dead last students of the academy. But it was always Kaito that pushed them to do better, and to rise above the things that kept pushing them down. So Kaito was not only the drive and devotion of the team, but also the heart.

But after going to the training fields and asking nearly everyone in the village, Kaito still could not be found. He lived on the outer edge of the village, almost completely surrounded by the forest that was home to all the deer that the Nara family cared for. The pair set off to his residence with hands in their pockets and a shrug at the long distance.

"Yukiko?" Haruko looked over at the boy with a look he recognizes well.

"Haruko," he said her name slowly, returning the look and taking his hands from his pockets.

"Would you like to…" she paused, fixing her forehead protector and rolling up her sleeves. "Would you like to race?"

He had prepared just like her, unfastening his sheathed katana and offering it to Kana, who took it in his jaws gingerly. "Race? Hmm, well okay."

"Hn," she smirked

"The count of three?" he raised his eyebrows and continued "…1…2…-"

And she was already off, running down the dirt road and building up a cloud of dust. She could hear Yukiko's amused shouts behind her, and smirked. He was faster than her and they both knew it. She always took the liberty of a head start in these sorts of games. She heard his laugh, but dared not to look back, because if she did she knew he would be right there and it would make her loose her footing. Her smirk vanished and she pumped more chakra to her legs, praying it would be enough to outlast him for just a bit more…

"I've got you," he whispered in her ear and she gasps, her head snapping around to find him only inches away.

And then that damn (invisible) rock appeared, and caught her foot. The little roots (once again, invisible) growing around it snaked around her ankle and dragged her down, reducing her to a crumple on the ground.

Yukiko continued for a few more feet before skidding to a stop and putting his hands on his hips. He wasn't out of breath or even a bit flushed, he just looked…happy. He came back to her and helped her up, laughing a bit at her theory of the rock and roots.

"Nice try Haruko," he said. "It's cute when you do that."

She should have paled, but her face burned up. "I'm not cute, don't use that word."

"If I called you uncute, you'd punch me," Yukiko said, turning and continuing on.

"Uncute isn't even a word." She sighed.

"You're too modest anyway," Yukiko said. "You were the highest scoring konoichi in our class and mastered your bloodline just after graduation. The rest of the girls in our year have either dropped out or have gone into the medical field, not that that's a bad thing…You were made for this life, Haruko."

"Yukiko," he looked over at her, finding that her eyes were fixed on the ground. "Please stop saying things like that…Knowledge isn't wisdom…"

"Why can't you see how great you are!" He shouted, throwing his hands up into the air. "You can do things some those crazy main branch members still haven't figured out. You'll have to recognize your talents if you want to be made head of the clan."

"How could I ever hope to be head of the clan if my own family hates me! I was born out of wedlock, Yukiko! I shouldn't exist to them! I shouldn't be better than them!"

"But you are," he said.

"No I'm not. I have my faults too, just like everybody else! I'm far from perfect."

"Haruko, you don't have to be perfect to be great." Yukiko said softly, wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they walked. "Relax, okay? You've been through a lot in the past twelve hours. Be proud of yourself…you haven't cried."

"…Yes I did…" Haruko said, eyes still watching the ground.

"When?"

"That's not important," Haruko said quickly.

"Oh, Haruko…" he pulled her closer, but said nothing more.

"Yukiko…I'm sorry…I guess I am kind of great." She smirked and she looked up at him.

He noted her amused tone and looked down at her. "Great? Maybe I was exaggerating a bit…" he said as he tapped his finger against his chin.

She pushed him away and chuckled, staring down the dirt road that still held a long way to Kaito's house. She jogged a little way before looking behind her. As Yukiko quickened his pace as well, she disappeared in a puff of smoke. His eyes widened and he turned quickly, just in time to side step out of the way. Haruko leapt forward, preparing to jump on his back, before spinning gracefully after Yukiko moved out of the way.

"Not this time, Haruko!" Yukiko yelled as he whistled to Kana, who immediately grew in size.

Yukiko jumped on his back and pointed. "Quick, to Kaito's!"

"Yukiko, that's cheating!" Haruko yelled after the two, following quickly.

She pumped chakra to her legs, while Yukiko continued to laugh unaware of the burst of speed she was about to let out. She had saved this, waiting until he was completely convinced that she would never catch up to him. But as the blue glow flowed through her legs, she smiled. She couldn't wait to see the look on his face when she came up behind him. Haruko was sure it was much better than when she beat him in a spar.

Soon she was in reach of Kana's fluffy brown tail, and only a foot or so from Yukiko's form. She called out his name, the smile still plastered on her face and nearly exploded with satisfaction when he turned. His face showed total shock, he was utterly speechless. Haruko laughed and continued, seeing Kaito's house approaching. Her feet carried her in front of Kana and closer to her goal. What she didn't see was the smile that etched across Yukiko face, and the look that glinted in his eyes.

'I want to see that smile again,' he thought.

Gradually the sound of Kana's panting and footfalls quieted and Haruko found herself skidding to a stop in the front yard of Kaito's house.

She took deep breaths, and wiped the light layer of sweat from her forehead. Haruko stared up t the sky from a while, still smiling, until Yukiko ran up to her and pulled her into a tight hug. He swung her around a few times, laughing loudly. The look she missed was gone.

"That was awesome! When did you learn how to run like that?" He asked, putting her down.

"I was saving it," Haruko said. "You underestimated me, Yukiko."

"Yeah, well don't expect to win on the next race, Okay?"

"You're just a sore loser," she said, punching his arm.

The two walked around to the side of the house and stood beneath Kaito's window. They waited a moment, knowing they had been loud and surely alerted him to their presence, but minutes past and Kaito still hadn't come to the window. Haruko picked up a few small stones and tossed them at the window, making little clicks as they hit. Still no one came. Just before they were about to leave to find the Hokage and ask him where Kaito was, they heard a loud grumble. The window was wrenched open and a head stuck itself out.

"Nara-san, sorry did we wake you?" Yukiko said

"No," troublesome kids "What do you want?"

"We're looking for Kaito-san." Haruko answered

"He was called off on a mission this morning," Shikamaru told them, pulling out a cigarette and sticking it in his mouth, unlit. "It was a last minute thing. Hokage-sama said something about Kaito filling in for someone."

"Thank you. Sorry to have disturbed you," Haruko said and bowed, as did Yukiko.

"Yeah," Shikamaru closed the window.

-

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Their walk back was long and when they finally reached the village both agreed to go get some ramen. Hours had passed since their large breakfast and the racing had only further increased their hunger.

Ichiraku's Ramen stand was still humble in size, but was one of the most successful businesses in the village. With the Hokage's full support and numerous paperwork breaks spent here, the villagers naturally decided to give it a try. But even with business booming, the owner and his family had not made any major changes to the structure. The number of seating had increased only because of the number of people coming in, and the owner hated turning people away.

So there was plenty of room for Haruko and Yukiko. They ordered their food and waited patiently. The smell of the soup and the steam of the boiling broth wafted around them, creating a warm cocoon of relaxation and comfort. Haruko loved this place, as did Yukiko. As he was her uncle and because she was so close with Fumio, Naruto had taken her many times when she was young. When she learned of her parent's death, Naruto had taken her that night. He sat with her and didn't say a word. He ordered a bowl of chicken ramen and gave her a light pat on the head. Big fat tears rolled down her cheeks as she sat in front of the noodles. Quickly she shoveled the noodles into her mouth, choking back sobs. Naruto put his hand of her shoulder, mumbling words she couldn't remember.

She looked down at the bowl of ramen in front of her. Chicken Ramen. She took a clump with her chopsticks and raised it to her lips. She ate it slowly, savoring the taste and the memories that came with it. Haruko looked up at Yukiko, who was eating his favorite. It was about the spiciest food in Konoha, and Yukiko couldn't get enough of it. The smell of it burned her eyes, and she couldn't imagine what it did to him. Although everyone knew he was of Inzuka blood, no one knew who his father was. Yukiko's mother had had the red lines painted on his face when he was very young; she had always known him with these marks. She started to wonder now what he looked like.

Yukiko had never known his father, never even seems like he wanted to know. She felt awful, after learning that he parents were still alive and he was basically without either of his. She wanted to ask him why he never talked about his parents or even asked to know about his father, but she could never do it. She admired his strength. The way he was always stayed optimistic, and was able to pull both her and Kaito out of slumps of unhappiness and negativity. He usually lived alone, and sometimes had to take care of his own mother when she returned home, stumbling as she used to think. Suddenly she was struck by the urge to take care of him. She opened her mouth to speak…

"Yukiko!" They both turned to find a chubby little Genin running up to them.

She was in their year, but was being trained in the medical field. Under open eye was a little blue swirl, and her auburn hair was tied in a pony tail. She wore a blue sweater and a pair of black shorts. Her ninja shoes were also black and went up past her ankles. Just like her father she could roll into a ball and crush anything in her path, and just like her mother she had an exotic look and bright blue eyes.

"Yukiko, I've been looking or you all day." She sighed, coming up to them, "Hokage-sama is looking for you."

"Okay, thanks Cho," he said, slurping down the rest of his noodles and slapping some money down on the table. "I'll see you later, Haruko."

"Hn," she said with a wave before going back to her noodles.

Cho sat down a few seat away and ordered herself a bowl. Haruko finished and went to pay for herself, but the money on the table caught her eye. Yukiko left enough to pay for them both. She sighed and said goodbye to Cho. As she walked away she heard Cho's small voice.

"What a gentleman, he paid for Haruko-san too."

-

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With nothing else to do that day, Haruko slowly walked back to the Hyuga compound. She planned to go straight to her room, climbing through the window of course, and spend the rest of the day reading or staring out the window as the scenery changed. Although she enjoyed music very much, she hardly ever had the chance to let the sound drift through her ears. Music was forbidden in the branch family compound, and was only allowed at family parties of ceremonies. Whenever she went to Yukiko's she tried to listen to as much music as she could. Yukiko knew what she liked and slipped in a few of her favorites often, and usually with only a sly look.

So when she was stuck in the compound, she pretended that the sound of a piano or violin was ringing in her ears. She imagined that a soft voice was whispering in her ear, only for her. AS she walked, she closed her eyes, and pictured just this. The instruments began and she caught the intake of breath before the singer began. The song began and Haruko stumbled, her eyes snapping open. She looked around herself quickly, making sure she was totally alone. When finding that she was, she turned back and took a shaky breath.

"I don't even know what Yukiko sounds like when he sings," She sighed. "What has he done to me that has him stuck in my head?"

Haruko decided to think about this later when she was locked away in her room, away from the prying eyes and ears of the villagers around her. But as she walked through the gate and prepared to move to the side of the compound, a voice stopped her.

Hiashi stood on the porch. His clean white robes contrasted with the oak beneath him and blended with the color of the walls behind him. His black hair kept her focus on his face, even though she wanted to look away from his menacing eyes. Since he had called her, she had to leave her safer part of the earth and move in front of him. She bowed respectfully and stood straight again, keeping her eyes on the ground.

"Where were you this morning? We called a meeting and you did not attend?" He asked his voice heavy with anger.

"I was training with my team," she lied.

"Then why are you back so early? And I see no evidence of effort on your robes."

"We worked on our genjutsu and meditation skills."

She heard the sound of clothing shift and felt her head start to burn. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to look like the pain wasn't affecting her, but small cry slipped out when the fire was increased. Her knees began to shake and her fists were clenched tight. She was about to collapse when the burning slowly stopped. She looked up, sweat caked on her forehead from the pain, and her teeth gritted. Her breathing was labored, and Hiashi just stared.

"Come with me, you must meet with the Elders."

She followed him on limp legs as he walked through the Branch hallways and into the Main Branch building. He walked quickly, and she tried to keep up without looking like a small child running after an annoyed relative. He zigged and zagged through the halls and she wondered if the Elders actually took this path to their court every day. How old were these Elders anyway?

Finally they came to a door and stopped. They stood there for a few seconds before the door slid open and they were allowed to enter. Hiashi went and sat behind a table with the rest of the Elders and Haruko was told to sit in the center of the room. Save for the way she came in, the Elders surrounded her, all staring with their white eyes and tight lips. She took her breath deeply, and sat proudly, showing that she was not afraid of them. Then one spoke.

"Hyuga Haruko of the Branch Family, you have failed to attend a mandatory meeting of the Hyuga clan. There will be punishment."

"I'm sorry, but you cannot expect me to be here all the time. I was training with my team, and was away." Haruko said, also showing that by speaking out she was not afraid. "I was also not informed of the meeting."

"We sent the letters through servants yesterday. It should have been delivered to you when you arrived home."

"I-I did not come home last night," Haruko said.

"Was it that?"

"We trained very late,"

"But you did not stay out all night and return to train again this morning, is that correct?" Hiashi asked.

"That is correct."

"Then where did you go?"

"I was invited to stay at a friend's," Haruko looked down at her hands, which sat in her lap.

"What friend? One of the Uchiha's daughters? Akamichi's, or Nara's perhaps?"

"No," She paused "Yamanaka Yukiko."

She flinched at the silence. She was underage and also in the branch family. She was only allowed with her male counter parts when training, other than that she was considered to be spoken for. The Main Branch arranged all the marriages for the Branch Family, and she was one of them. She didn't have a match yet, but she knew that soon she would and her life as a ninja would change drastically. Her HerksdfjmnfkSMNINXHer confession would get her a terrible punishment. It was considered adultery in her clan.

"Well now we have a reason to kill you."

Haruko's head snapped up. This kind of thing would never lead to a death. Her eyes narrowed. She knew something like this was going to happen when she was called in here. The Hyuga clan had always hated her. She didn't belong in their clan and she didn't deserve to have the Hyuga bloodline. Killing her parents had been a plan to break her, to make her submit to the rule of the Main Branch. But it had almost the opposite effect. She resisted them in nearly every way, and was proud of it.

One Elder stood, surprising good on his feet and moved to stand in front of the door. Quickly she moved and palmed him on a point at his neck, knocking him out. He poofed and disappeared. She looked around the room, seeing none of them move. They were all clones. Except one. Hiashi's hands moved to make a seal when they heard heavy footsteps coming.

"I thought that getting rid of Neji would be the most of my problems. We thought that by giving you the Curse Seal you would be nothing more than a Nat. But we were wrong, and now it seems that you have become the next target of the Hyuga Main Branch."

She went to attack him when the footsteps stopped in front of the door, and someone began to pound on it. Haruko growled and pulled out a kunai, whipping it around the room and taking out all the clones. She caught it again, and looked at Hiashi.

He stood quickly and jumped over the table, a kunai of his own in his hands. She stopped his blow with hers, but was pushed back against a wall. She went to kick him, but he blocked, pulling away and cutting her cheek slightly. He threw his weapon at her and she tried to move, but it sunk into her arm, as it seemed to follow her.

Then the door was blown open and in stepped Yukiko.

"Haruko!" he shouted.

Behind him came a flood of Kana's. The little dogs attack Hiashi, and as he swatted them away they turned to logs. Yukiko quickly stepped in and took Haruko's hands, pulling her with him out the door. Quickly they ran through the halls and he stopped them at her room.

"Get your things," he said

She slid the door open and went in. She filled her mission bag with all her weapons and bandages. She stuffed in a few sets of her training clothes, leaving all her fancy kimonos and dresses easily. The collection of burettes that were on her table were left from her mother, so she grabbed them and put them in their own pocket in her bag. Haruko shouldered her bag and joined Yukiko back in the hall. Her gave her a look and took her hand again, pulling her the rest of the way through the Compound.

They shot out the door and, Yukiko took her to his house again. The climbed the stairs and he pushed her into his room, closing and locking the door behind him. He went to the window and drew the blinds, after locking the windows tightly.

He took a deep breath and rested his forehead against the wall. Haruko stood in the middle of the room, with her backpack on her shoulders and a Kunai in her arm. She didn't feel it anymore, and the wound was not her main concern. What she really wanted to know was how Yukiko had gotten into the compound and knew something bad was happening through the door.

He turned and looked at her, eyes immediately moving to her wound. He rushed over, pushing her to the ground and taking off her pack. He went through it, pulling out the bandages and medical supplies. He was talking, but she didn't hear him, she wasn't listening. She was too busy looking at his face, wondering about that look he gave her when she came out of her room.

"Haruko!"

She snapped out of it, eyes focusing again and listening to his words.

"What the heck was going on?"

She looked down at her arm, seeing that he had pulled up her sleeve without ripping it and had already taken out the kunai. Now he was cleaning the cut.

"They want to kill me," she said.

"Who?"

"The Elders and Hiashi," she answered.

"Why?"

"Mostly because I'm just like my father and because they think we slept together."

"What!" Yukiko blushed "We didn't, why do they-"

"Because I spend too much time with you," She corrected.

He was quiet for a long time. He didn't say anything as he cleaned the cut on her arm, the same odd look she saw before on his features.

"I think you might need stitches or something," he said.

"I could burn it closed," she said, moving to try just that.

"No, let me do it."

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Her wound was closed, and bandaged up. Now she sat on Yukiko's bed thinking.

"Yukiko," she began "I'm going to leave."

"No, they're still looking for you. You can't go back there."

"No," she said "I'm not going back to the compound."

"Then where are you going?"

"To the Village of Tea."

"You're leaving Konoha?!" Yukiko shouted, jumping up from the bed.

"Yes," she said "And I can't ask you to come with me."

"Of course not, because I'm coming with you no matter what."

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So I made it super long! I'm sorry for such a long wait, but I wanted to have it be long and have a bit more background stuff about some more characters. Sorry if there are any mistakes. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you can review. Please! PLEASE!.....Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Once again I would like to thank MIssanime for her review. It made me really giddy actually! I went back and read it again, it made me so happy. I'm glad you like it, and that I was able to get you to actually like OCs. Usually people can accept them very well, and to hear your comments made me feel great. Thanks again!

Okay I'll stop my babbling, and present you with chapter 5!

I don't own Naruto, but I DO see him every week…Can you believe that?

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She stared at him for a long time. Disbelief etched into her features. He said he was going to go with her. He…Yukiko…Come all the way to the Village of Tea…with her? What reason did he have to go? He was putting his whole life in danger, and for what? She couldn't comprehend, this was all too much, she felt like her head was going to explode. So she stood and walked over to the closed window. Her hand went to pull the curtain away needing to feel the cool autumn breeze on her face, but Yukiko's hand closed around hers. Haruko stiffened immediately, but she did not pull away. Yukiko moved her hand back to her side, standing closely behind her. His chest was pressed against her back, and she could feel his heart beating in quick succession. It reminded her of Kana's heartbeat, when he would curl up beside her on missions and drift off to sleep.

"Haruko, I'm coming with you," he whispered.

"Yukiko, you could be killed," she sighed.

"And so could you. I'm not going to sit around and wonder whether you're dead or alive. I have to be by your side, Haruko."

"You just do want to have to be stuck here with Lee-sensei and Kaito…" she mumbled

Yukiko turned her around quickly, ready to further convince her that he was serious, but was stopped by Haruko's down cast face. The shadow of her hair covered her eyes from Yukiko's view, but he could see the muscles in her jaw clenched tightly. Yukiko took her forearms and held them tight, whispering her name so she would look up. When Haruko didn't respond, Yukiko pulled her into a hug, one hand securing her head into the crook of his neck and the other curled around her.

"Yukiko, I wouldn't be able to live it I was responsible for you getting hurt." She said

"And you think I would be able to just throw my hands in the air and say 'whatever' if you were hurt?" he said back, keeping her close. "Have long have you known me, Haruko?"

"In any other circumstance I would have said too long," she mumbled. "But now…maybe not that much at all."

"Don't fool yourself, kid…you're the only girl in Konoha that I would let Kana to play with. All the other girls would dress him up."

She laughed softly and continued "How does that prove that I know you well?"

"I've told you secrets," he whispered into her ear, making her shiver.

"…And you think you know me?"

"More than you would think," he whispered again. "You talk in your sleep."

She pulled away a bit, but not fully because of Yukiko's tight hold. "I do not talk in my sleep. It would endanger a mission. Konoichi are taught to control themselves while in the field."

"I never said it was when we were on missions," he said, looking down at her with a smirk. "Besides, that way Kaito would know just as much as me. I would never let that happen."

A blush swept across Haruko's cheeks. But she didn't look away from him. She kept her eyes trained on him, and set her chin. She pulled out one last comment before once again attempting to escape his embrace.

"_Don't fool yourself, kid…_There's still plenty you don't know."

Then Kana barked, and the two separated like they had been shocked. Yukiko knelt down to tend to Kana, who seemed to have gotten himself stuck in Haruko's bag. It was as if the sound had pulled her from whatever world she had lost herself in. Reality came crashing down on her, and Haruko clutched her chest, feeling as though the wind had been knocked out of her. She was going to leave Konoha and become a missing ninja. Her decision could potentially lead to her death, and if Yukiko continued to demand that her come, it may prove to be the end of his life as well.

As Yukiko helped Kana, Haruko went and sat down on his bed. She folded her hands in her lap and stared at the two. She waited until Kana was free before focusing her eyes on Yukiko and opening her mouth to speak.

"Yukiko, I really don't think you should come with me," she said.

"Well to bad, because I'm coming," he answered.

"We will be missing ninjas! The trackers will come after us and will not stop until we are dead."

"And you think you could last against them alone?" Yukiko said, "Lee-sensei always talks about team work, and how we cannot be defeated if we are united, don't you believe him?"

"Yes," she looked down as she spoke.

"Then let me come with you, I want to protect you."

She crossed her arms and looked up at him defiantly. "Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean you have to protect me."

"I don't want to protect you because you're a girl, I want to protect you because I care about you." He said casually, turning as a blush spread across Haruko's face.

He pulled a bag from a closet and began tossing things in. Haruko found it funny because his bag turned out to have more than hers. He filled it with clothes and medical supplies like her, but also extra things for Kana. He collected books and a few notepads to add to his bag as well. She watched as he went around his room picking little things off the shelves and tables that she could only guess meant something to him. She thought back to her bag and the one special item inside. It was a tattered piece of fabric about as big as Kana. It was once the red blanket she was wrapped in as a child, and stumbled upon it in her parent's things after their funeral, she had clung to it. She brought it on every mission that lasted more than a few days and had it with her every night. She called it _Poppy_.

Yukiko put in a few more things and shouldered his bag. He looked over at Haruko and tossed her a roll of bandages to make up for the ones he had used on her arm.

"Do you have a reason for this little trip?" he asked

"Sort of," she said standing. "I'll have to find my parents and get the real story of what happened to them."

"Yeah, anything else?"

She gave him a smirk. "I've had enough headaches, I want to give Hiashi a taste of his own medicine."

"Awesome!" Yukiko clapped her on the shoulder and pulled her through the door and down the hall. "That's what I want to hear!"

"Hn, I thought so."

"But I want the truth, Haruko," he looked at her seriously, "How many times have they used the curse seal on you?"

"I've lost count," she waved off, quickening her pace and reaching the kitchen before him.

"Does it hurt?" he asked

"It's supposed to hurt, Yukiko." She said "Now pack something sweet, I want candy."

"How come I never see you in pain?" he asked more, even with her obvious attempt to change the subject.

" They…They only like to do it when they can see me suffer." She answered, looking down at the ground.

"Can't you do anything about it?" Yukiko asked.

"No, my father tried and failed so there's no telling how many branch members have tried to get the curse seals forbidden." Haruko said, looking away. "I was born a few months before Fumio and Masaru, so I was the logical choice when it came to who would be protecting them."

"But you didn't move into the Hyuga Compound until you entered the academy though, right?" Yukiko asked.

"Yeah, but fate had already cursed me."

"But why were you sealed instead of Masaru?" Yukiko asked, still standing just outside of the kitchen and leaning against the door frame. "Hiashi-san had a twin, right?"

"Yes, but Masaru was born with the Byackugan. Fumio would not be suitable as a replacement if Masaru was ever kidnapped."

"But he is older, he will be head of the clan someday, right?"

"I doubt it," Haruko sighed.

"Why?"

"Hiashi-sama likes Masaru better, and thinks Fumio is useless without the Byackugan."

"But Fumio has mastered the Hokage's Resengan," Yukiko mumbled.

"Yes, quite unfair, isn't it?" she said.

She pushed herself off the wall she was leaning against and continued into the kitchen. Yukiko went over to the cabinets and started searching through them. Haruko stood in the center of the room watching Kana, who sat at Yukiko feet wagging his tail. She began to think of all the times the Main Branch had used the curse seal on her, and of her feeling towards them. Usually they would set the seal for small things, things that she couldn't even remember. Had it not been for her aunt, Hinata she would have suffered many more times. Haruko thanked whoever lived in the clouds that Masaru had not been taught the hand seal…she knew he would have been merciless.

It was when the hatred started to bubble up within her that she felt the burning. She was stunned, mind going completely blank as the flames engulfed her. She was burning; she was on fire. The world around her blinked out, and everything but the pain was gone. She could have been screaming, she could have already fallen to her knees, she didn't know. It was all blank.

Yukiko had just grabbed a large bag of assorted candy when a blood curdling scream met his ears. He turned quickly, dropping the bad of sweets and starting at Haruko in complete shock. She had her head clutched in her hands, her eyes squeezed shut and tears streaming down her cheeks.

He had never heard a sound like that from anyone, let alone Haruko. She was usually the one to get the worst injuries on missions, and yet her never saw her in that kind of pain. He ran over to her, catching her just before she fell to the ground and held her tight. Yukiko had no idea what to do, he was panicking. Haruko's screams continued, and all Yukiko was able to do was rock her bad and forth as he whispered in her ear.

"Shh, it's alright, Haruko," he said, "It's alright."

Soon her screaming stopped, and Yukiko looked down at her. She was breathing evenly, but her eyes were closed. Panic set in again. Had the Curse Seal done any damage to her brain? Was it took much for her body to handle? Was she okay?

"Haruko!" he said as he shook her, "Haruko!"

She opened her eyes and jerked away from his touch. She pulled herself completely away from him, and started shaking. The tears returned, and the shaking only increased. He moved forward, but she moved back until she hit a wall.

"Haruko," he whispered as he sat beside her along the wall.

"Yukiko," she sobbed "I'm burning!"

"No, no you're okay now."

He took her hand and she seemed to relax a bit. He ran his thumb over her knuckles, back and forth in a steady pattern. She relaxed more and more until she was resting against his shoulder. The shaking had stopped, and the tears were only lines on her face.

"Are you feeling better?" Yukiko asked after a while of silence.

"Yes, you're nice and cool." Haruko mumbled.

"So that's how it is?"

"Yes, but this one was really bad." she said "I think he meant to kill me."

"What?!" Yukiko stiffened, rage building up.

"He probably thinks he did kill me." she chuckled "I suppose I've built up a resistance."

"Don't joke!" He buried his face in his hands "That was awful!"

"Yes, I'm sure it was," she patted his leg lightly. "I'm okay now, so relax."

"I won't be able to relax until we're far away from that stupid compound."

"Me neither," she said "we'd better leave soon, it's pretty late."

"Yeah," Yukiko stood and helped Haruko up.

She swayed a bit, so he put his arm around her waist and helped her over to the small kitchen table they had eaten breakfast at that morning. He sat her down and went over to the bag of candy that lay on the ground. He picked it up and tossed it over to her direction. He planned for it to land on the table, but Haruko's hand shot out and intercepted it. She sent him a smirk when he looked over.

"My recovery time isn't good just because of my youthfulness, Yukiko."

He laughed and put his backpack on. As she popped a piece of candy into her mouth a look of pure bliss swept across her face. After a moment she stood and walked to her pack.

"The adventure begins now,"

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So sorry for such a late update. It's nearing the end of the term at school and I've had a bunch of work. Please forgive me, and please leave a review!


	6. Chapter 6

I hope you all like this chapter, I've tried to get it out as quickly as possible…also I am really sorry for any mistakes in the last chapter. I completely forgot to do spell check, and I've been too busy to go back and fix it then upload it again…I hope you can forgive me!

I only own my characters…

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It was dark as the two young ninjas ran through the village with the shadows as their cover. They were silent and quick, using all the ninja training they had acquired over the years in this one moment of stealth. This was the most dangerous mission the two would ever attempt, for the ninjas of the Leaf had grown in skill over the years. Even with the time of peace Naruto had established during his reign as Hokage, the village of Konoha was one of the strongest of all the hidden villages.

Haruko and Yukiko had their work cut out for them. The guards that watched the gate were lax in the presence of ordinary civilians and under safe situations, but when ninjas from foreign lands and the rare occurance of danger threatened the village they were alert and extremely protective. Once, before a mission Yukiko and Kaito had not been able to leave the village for another two days because the guards had had a bit of trouble with a few _guests_ without an invitations.

Haruko didn't want to admit it, but she was worried they would be caught. The guards may go easy on her and Yukiko, but who was to say that they wouldn't? But she would not give up this early in the game. She wanted a proper conversation with her parent. A conversation that she deserved, and she wanted this damned curse seal to just go away. She was sick of all this Main Branch crap, and becoming a missing nin was the only way she saw possible to change it all.

Finally the two were in sight of the gate. Sill hiding in the shadows, they rested against a large empty building. From their position they could just make out the blurred figure of the guards up at the watch post. Haruko activated her Byackugan and closed the other eye as chakra pumped to her left eye. Yukiko began sniffing the air as Kana put his nose to the ground. Haruko scanned the area and spotted an opening just as Yukiko grabbed her hand.

"Haruko, over there." he gestured with his hand.

He pulled her along and back into the darkness of a shadow just across from the opening. It was a new irrigation system that the newly graduated Genin had designed. It came from a river deep in the forest, and since the Genin had only just started the job, it was still a wide open entrance and exit from Konoha. Naruto was not worried about anyone getting in, so decided to let the Genin rest instead of working them non-stop. Haruko looked over at the group of guards one last time before gripping Yukiko's hand tighter and jumping over the steady stream of water and into the thick foliage of the Konoha forest.

For a while they ran through the forest, using the small stones in the steadily growing brook or jumping random patterns through the trees. Once they were far enough from the village and the ears of the guards, Haruko and Yukiko stopped. Figuring out what direction to go in next, the two took off their shoes and rolled the bottom of their pants up before stepping into the knee length water. The rocks of the river bed were smooth under their feet and as the chilling water swept past them, Haruko's worries faded away.

She had always loved the cooler whether that drifted past Konoha every once in a while, and any source of water in the village was always much warmer than this. It was as if the river's water was physically showing the changes she was making in her life. She was going from a relatively safe life that offered consistency and security, and coming to a life of adventure and freedom.

She paused and turned to look at Yukiko. He looked up from the water's surface, now sparkling with the golden light of the morning, and smirked.

"You feel different don't you?" he asked

"Yeah…do you?" She asked

"Definitely!" he laughed

"Let's continue for a while before we take a break."

The couple continued through the water with a different kind of spring in their step…

It was only a few more minutes that they traveled but they had gone about a mile. Haruko activated her Byackugan and scanned the area quickly, eye stopping on a small clearing just a little ways past the line of trees. She started over, Yukiko and Kana following as well. Yukiko let his pack fall off his back as soon as they stopped. He hunched over and let out a sigh.

"Man, Haruko you sure aren't a slow poke anymore!" He said

She smirk, placing her back pack on the ground with a much gentle hand. "Once night falls we can't make a fire…we're still too close to the village."

"Okay, but it's gonna get cold." he mumbled before looking up at the sky. "Besides it's still morning. Who's to say we won't be in the Village of Tea when the sun sets."

"Have you ever been to the Village of Tea before, Yukiko?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"No,"

"It's quite a long journey."

"But we're fast…and if you get tired I can carry you on my back!"

"Don't be so foolish," Haruko laughed.

"Oh, but you can't win against fools, Haruko," Yukiko smirked.

"I suppose not," Haruko said as she looked off into the distance, towards the next village. "We'll be reaching a village soon…someone might recognize us."

"Should we get disguises?" Yukiko asked.

Haruko shrugged thinking for a moment before bending over and taking a kunai from her pack. She stared at the glinting steal as it shown in the light and slowly reach behind her head to untie her hair. She and Yukiko had left their forehead protectors back in Konoha, somewhere in Yukiko's kitchen.

Yukiko watched as Haruko waist length brown hair fell down from the neat bun she held it up in. He was one of the lucky people that had seen her hair down, but seeing it now made his breath hitch and his heart do a funny little flip in his chest. It sparkled in the sun just like the kunai in her hand and seemed to be a perfect mass of the most lovely curls he had ever seen. Her hair was so long, and he couldn't remember if she showed any kind of affection towards it. Had she ever played with it when she was nervous, ever stared at her reflection in a mirror just to see the ringlets frame her face? But with the way she moved the kunai in her hands, he knew the answer. He rushed forward before she could cut it and took her hand tightly.

"No Haruko, please don't," he whimpered.

"What?"

"It's so pretty, please don't cut it."

"But people will recognize me." she said.

"Leave it down…you look like a completely different person."

She blushed and turned away. "I can't do that!"

"Why?"

"People will stare!"

"I won't let they stare." Yukiko said, finding her words made him feel a flutter of something strange in his stomach.

"And what of my eye?" she mumbled, covering her left eye.

"We can use some bandages and cover it." Yukiko said as he went over to his bag and pulled out a roll of the bindings.

"What about your tattoos?"

"I can use transformation jutus on them."

"Why can't I do that for my eye?" she asked crossing her arms again.

"I dunno, what if you need to use your Byackugan and the jutus throws you off? We could be found out that way."

"Fine, but what about clothes?" se smirked "I think we have looked this way since we were in the academy."

"Yeah…but I look you handsome in these clothes!"

Haruko laughed again coming over to him and looking him up and down. "I suppose…"

Yukiko felt his face burn. Although he never really paid attention to other girls, he hadn't seen that look from anyone. Kaito had mentioned that the girls in the village were always looking at Yukiko, but he never believed him. Haruko's look reminded Yukiko of Kaito's ridiculous thought. So he cocked his head and willed the blush away.

"Haruko…well, since you're a girl…I was wondering, how exactly do the other girl's see me?"

Haruko's look vanished instantly and was replaced with that of surprise. "I'm not the other girl's Yukiko."

"Yeah I know, but Kaito says that they are always looking at me…Is that true?"

"Maybe…You're very popular in the hospital, though."

"What?"

"Whenever I have to stay, they ask for you." Haruko said "I've heard them whispering about you. They think you look very dangerous with your red triangles and fangs."

Haruko traces the triangles with a slight smirk. "But you aren't dangerous at all, are you Yukiko?"

"pff, no…But on our next stop, lets change that. We'll get some really dangerous looking clothes. How about that?"

Haruko's head snapped back a bit before she smiled. "Yeah, okay."

Yukiko took the roll of bandages and pulled off a bit. He wrapped it around Haruko's left eye, effectively covering her curse seal as well. Haruko moved her hair a bit so that the stripes of cloth going around her head wouldn't be seen. Then the two picked up their bags again and started off. A few hours later they stopped at a very small gate of the next village. It was just past midday and the little city was very busy. They left their bags up in a tall tree before going through the gates and following a crowd of people deeper into the village. After a while they came to a side street with only a few people walking through. They went down the road and found a sizable shop with an old door with a bell over it. There was no window, so Haruko and Yukiko were left wondering what kind of things could be inside.

Haruko reached for the handle and opened the door. The bell twinkled and she stepped over the threshold. Inside was an array of different things. It was the ultimate ninja shop. There were weapons and explosive tags, along with food tablets and bandages. Finally her eyes stopped on the ninja clothes, and she started over.

"See we came to the right place." Yukiko said as he walked next to her.

"Yeah, I guess we did." Haruko said.

"Alright, think dangerous," Yukiko mumbled.

Awhile later Haruko and Yukiko came out of the shop, fully dressed in their new _dangerous clothes_. Haruko blushed every time she saw Yukiko, even if she would never admit it. Living with the Hyuga's she hadn't seen a man's chest without a layer of thick clothing. Even when she trained with her team, they showed little skin. There was one time that Lee sensei had pealed his spandex suit off of the upper part of his body. Although she still wanted to rip her eyes out, Lee sensei still hadn't really shone anything. Under his spandex suit her wore a tight layer of bindings that covered nearly his whole torso.

Now, Yukiko was showing her all the hard work of training had achieved. He had disposed of the wrapping around his arms and the gray shirt that she had always looked tight. The shirt he wore now was a think fishnet T-shirt. It molded to his from and showed every little curve in his physic. His pant were still gray, but also seemed a little tighter than his old pants. He kept his old black ninja shoes.

As they walked, Yukiko fluffed his hair, making it even more mess than it had been before. But with a smile, Haruko thought it suited him. She blew her hair out of her eyes and walked ahead, pocketing the extra money as she scanned the streets. As the sun blazed, Yukiko watched as Haruko stepped out of the shadow of the side street and into the rays of light. For the second time that day, his breath hitch and he stopped dead in his tracks.

Her new clothes were so much more form fitting than her old ones, and Yukiko found himself praising the fact that all the other shirts she kept picking were larger and unfortunately blue. The two had tried to stay clear of the colors they used to wear in Konoha, just in cause they encountered someone. Her new shirt was still long sleeved but was a deep, dark red that stopped just above her belly button. The rest of her stomach was covered by fishnet. Her pants were a very dark gray, nearly gray and matched the color of her ninja shoes. The dark colors of her clothes set against her skin made her look very pale, almost white, making her contrast strongly with his heavily tanned skin. He never noticed how different a woman's body could be from a man's.

After he had recovered, Yukiko came up to Haruko. He took her hand and pulled her into the crowd again. He never got tired of seeing that look of surprise in her eyes…

"You look hungry, let's eat."

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Thanks so much for reading! I'm really happy with all the support I'm getting with this story, and really want to thank Hakkiforever! You've been great, and I hope you liked this chapter! PLEASE REVIEW EVERYONE!!!!!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7! I got this done quick because I am trying to stay ahead of a new FF member who has been reviewing my story regularly…you know who you are…

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy…

I do not own Naruto…

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"You look hungry, let's eat."

Yukiko put his other hand in his pocket, and walked slowly with Haruko. He still held her hand, and Kana followed behind them like the happy little puppy he was. They were stopped a few times when the village's young children came and played with Kana's ears or gawked at him from the side walk until he had come close enough to pet. Yukiko was tempted to send them scary looks, but when he saw the small smile on Haruko's lips he couldn't help but smile himself.

Haruko and Yukiko had gradually separated from the crowd again, and now found themselves in front of a large restaurant. Yukiko's nose twitched with the delicious smells floating around the air. Suddenly the long travel crashed down on him and his stomach roared in protest to having been neglected for so long. With the sound he looked over at Haruko, embarrassment written all over his face. She laughed, letting go of his hand and walking over to the door. She opened it and gestured for him to go inside.

"You seem hungrier than me," she said.

He frowned at the way she was standing. His mother had taught him manners, and that included opening a door for a lady. He would not let Haruko hold the door open for him. He walked up to her, and since he had grown about a foot taller than her over the years, reached his hand over her head to grab the door. She looked up at him, with a smirk.

"Get inside," he said.

"You're lucky I'm so found of your chivalry, Yukiko," Haruko said as she let go of the door and went inside.

"Kana, stay out here and take a little nap. I'll bring you back something good, okay?" Yukiko said, and Kana barked back before trotting off and settling down in the shadow of a large bush.

Yukiko followed Haruko in, feet falling silently on the thickly padded floors of the eatery. He walked slowly behind her, watching the way she moved. She still walked as if she was on a mission, with stealth and purpose. He knew her parents had been great ninjas when he was young from stories his mother told him, and after fighting Haruko's father had learned from experience. As he continued to watch Haruko, he saw all the years of training that both of them had learned in the academy, but also saw something else. She had a natural talent as a ninja. She could instantly change to fit the situation, and could people even when first meeting them. He admired her for her skills.

Unfortunately the other girls in their age group hated her. They had always teased her in the academy because of the eye patch her mother had given her to hide the fact that she was of Hyuga blood. They had been so mean. But as they years passed, Haruko only grew stronger. Soon she had surpassed all the other girls, and was well on her way to beating most of the boys. She no longer wore her eyes patch, and embraced the fact that most were afraid of the way her eyes were two different colors or thought that one was useless. She always told people not to underestimate her whenever they gave her an overly cocky smirk when they were paired up for a spar.

When they had graduated, all the other girls that decided to stay in the ninja field had become medical ninjas. Yukiko never saw Haruko with another girl besides the ones that lived in the Hyuga compound and wondered if she ever felt lonely. Did she ever want to act like all the other girls her age, or was she happy with just him?

He was pulled from his thoughts when a waiter asked if it would be just the two of them for the meal. Yukiko answered yes and followed the man as he brought them to their table. The waiter pulled the chair out for Haruko, who made a funny face and thanked him before sitting down awkwardly. Yukiko couldn't help but cock his head and smirk a bit. He had pulled out chairs for Haruko before and she had only made that face the first time he did it. The waiter took their order of drinks and left them alone.

"We should be careful," Yukiko said.

"Hn," Haruko answered, looking casually at the menu.

"I suppose this will be the last non ninja meal until we get to Tea," Yukiko said.

The waiter came back with their drinks, and took their orders. Yukiko got something extremely spicy, and Haruko went with a small plate of chicken and rice. They talked casually for a while, neither really thinking about the lives they had just left behind and all the trouble they were in for leaving the village without permission. When the conversation had slowed, and the two sat in a comfortable silence, the thought came to Yukiko's mind. Becoming a missing ninja was based off the fact that the ninja had left for an extended period of time with out the correct papers or reasons. As he looked deeper, he realized how much the village tried to control it's ninja. Yukiko knew that ninjas were very dangerous people, but if he hadn't found a friend in Haruko when he was young, he was sure he still would have become a missing nin.

Yukiko really like Naruto as a Hokage, and Lee as a sensei, but besides Haruko there really wasn't anything holding him there. He saw that he had a slightly better life than Haruko, and it had calmed the resentment to his mother. Had he maintained it, he would have snapped, and wouldn't have seen all the great point of his own independent lifestyle.

He looked up at Haruko, who was scooping a spoonful of rice from her plate. She was oblivious of his eyes, and put the spoon into her mouth. Yukiko noticed the way she held the utensil, it was a strange way. They were used to chopsticks in Konoha, and the spoons had been something they only used on occasional missions. Lee had taught them all how to use them, but Haruko had developed her own way. Almost like chopsticks, she held in between the first two finger and the last two fingers on her right hand. Her thumb held it in place as she lifted the food. It was cute.

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It was now sometime in the afternoon when Haruko and Yukiko returned to the tree with their back packs hidden away. Yukiko climbed up and got them both, passing Haruko's hers when he reached the ground again. Haruko looked over the map they had bought earlier and decided on a direction. There was a large pot on the map marked in a dark, foreboding pattern of lines just beyond was only a days travel until they reached Tea. Haruko knew this area from a book she had read a long time ago. It was a deep marsh and proved to be fatal from most people. No one knew why, but a three or four day journey was made to go around this dangerous marsh. Haruko smirked. She had always been curious about this area and it seemed that now was her chance to find out just what made it so dangerous.

She looked up at Yukiko. Could she really bring him through such a place? Was it better to take the longer route? But if they did go through the marsh, the tracker nins that were surely on their trail would lose them, right?

"Yukiko," she said "See this, on the map. It is a marsh. Are you will to cross it? It is very dangerous, most people die."

"Haruko." Yukiko gave her a look of disappointment. "When have I ever passed up a chance to do something dangerous?"

"Good, that way the trackers will lose us for a while."

"Alright then, let's go!" Yukiko pumped his fist into the air.

"Hn," Haruko tightened her pack and the two disappeared in a cloud of dust.

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They stood at the edge of the forest, looking over at the deadly marsh. From where they stood it didn't look all that deadly, but they both knew looks were deceiving. It was getting later in the day and the sky had begun to darken, the soon to be swallowed by the horizon. An eerie glow had settled over the marsh, and a layer of steam floated over the water of the winding stream. Tall yellow grass held fast to the ground and the ground closest to the water's edge. Far off in the distance Haruko and Yukiko could see the trees of the next forest. It was their finish line. They must reach it before it got too dark.

Haruko took a breath and smile "Don't underestimate the marsh, Yukiko. I've heard stories that the steam plays tricks on you."

"Oh really?" Yukiko said sarcastically. "Well we'd better hurry up."

They jumped into the grass, moving quickly as the sun sunk. As they got closer to the water, Haruko saw the surface ripple. Her heart jumped for a moment before her mind set it at ease.

"_Its just the steam_." she told herself, "_just the steam."_

They went faster.

Yukiko jumped over a puddle, eye brows furrowing when his eyes caught the reflection within it. It was not of him, nor of a figure at all. It looked like a face. Yukiko almost stopped, but Haruko urged him on.

Their finish line still seemed so far away. The marsh only grew bigger.

Kana barked and Haruko and Yukiko turned quickly.

Out of the water came boiling bubbles. The steam turned to fog and became thicker. Suddenly a ghostly white mass started to come from the water. It continued and Haruko's heart almost stopped. Both hers and Yukiko eyes widened as they saw the creature, unlike anything they had ever seen before. A head, shoulders, chest, and arms. All the same unearthly white as the top of the head, and body skinny and mangled, almost unrecognizable. The skin hung loosely over bones, wrinkling in places were too much of it had collected. The thing stopped, water settling just above it's waist and it looked up at Yukiko and Haruko.

It's eyes were a sickening green, pale and glossy. It didn't look like it was looking at all. They sat in it's head, deep in their sockets, and uneven. There was no nose, or even little slits, it was only flat. The mouth was large and hanging open, a fat gray tongue flopping around. The teeth were sharp and yellow, rotting slowly.

Bubbles started forming everywhere. More of the creatures came from the depths of the marsh, surrounding them. Haruko and Yukiko pushed their fear away and pulled out their weapons. They stood back to back ready for the monsters.

The things moved quickly through the water, climbing onto the banks and stumbling. They had no knees. Where they should have been, is where the legs separated. The feet were fins and only slightly resembled feet because of the way the monsters could stand on them. They came forward towards Haruko and Yukiko. Kana transformed into a giant dog and stood beside Yukiko, barring his teeth with a growl.

As the monster came closer, all three moved at once. Kana bite into the tough flesh as Haruko and Yukiko stabbed and tossed their weapons at the beasts. The monsters threw their claws, ripping delicate skin in search for their meal. Crimson blood fell everywhere, both from the monsters and the ninjas. The thick fog made everything wet and slippery, the mud deeper. The monsters fell, but were quickly replaced by another in an endless battle of misshapen limbs and white flesh.

Yukiko grabbed Haruko hands and pulled her quickly out of the path of one of the charging monsters. He threw her onto Kana's back and jumped on behind her. Kana took off, jumping over the monsters easily. They could hear the groans of the monsters as they flew passed them, and after a while the sound of bubbling. They looked back to see the monsters sinking back into the dark waters. Yukiko took a sigh of relief and rested his head on Haruko's shoulder. His eyes snapped open when he felt her shaking.

"Haruko?"

Her shaking continued, but he could see her face. Then she burst out laughing. Her head rolled back and the laughter poured off her in waves. She was clutching her stomach, her back pressed against Yukiko, still laughing.

"Hey, what's so funny?! We almost got eaten by…by-"

"By zombies!" she laughed "I knew the marsh was dangerous, but to think they were actually monster."

She laughed more, and Yukiko took her face in his hands, turning her so he could look at her. "Did something come loose in there?" he said "Did you get hit?"

She pushed him away "I'm fine…it was just more than I expected."

"You just get crazier and crazier by the day, Haruko." Yukiko sighed.

"Hn," she sighed and closed her eyes, resting back against him again. "You're not hurt, right?"

"No, just a few scratches," he said.

"I'll fix them up when we set up camp, okay?"

"What about you?"

"Just a few scratches," she mimicked.

"Alright, we're in the woods no, you can take a rest."

Yukiko got off and helped Haruko down. Kana turned back into his smaller self and flopped down on the ground. Haruko bent down and picked him up carefully and scratched his ear.

"You deserve a break."

They walked for a while, getting as far from the marsh as possible before picking a place to sleep for the night. They realized that they were really far from the village so set up a nice warm fire. But once they set up their sleeping bags, they found that one of the monsters had ripped a huge whole in Haruko's bag.

"A whole?" she mumbled.

Yukiko looked over and saw a pile of fluffy down from the sleeping bag all over the ground. First her looked over at Kana, who was sound asleep by the fire, then laughed. Haruko looked over at her and pouted.

"It's not funny…my clothes are all wet and my sleeping bag is destroyed." she said more to herself than him. "Where will I sleep?"

"With me, bubble head!" Yukiko had already climbed into his bag and now held the flap open for her to climb in. "Come on, get in. I'm cold."

"My clothes are wet," she said.

"So…take them off and put them near the fire." Yukiko was tired and didn't really think about what was coming out of his mouth.

"Yukiko!" Haruko blushed.

"Stop being such a baby. I'm not going to be a perv or anything."

She didn't say anything for a moment. All she did was look at him. She trusted him, and believed what he was saying. Quickly she pealed off her wet clothes leaving her in her bindings and a makeshift suite of fishnet and climbed into Yukiko's sleeping bag. She curled up next to him, taking in his and the fire's warmth as her eyelids became heavier and heavier.

"Tomorrow, everything is gonna be really different." Yukiko said as they both fell asleep.

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Thanks for reading! And please leave a review, I'd really appreciate it!!! Sorry for any mistakes! XD


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8! Wow, I never thought this story would do this well so quickly. I'm really thankful to everyone who has read and reviewed this story, it has definitely been one of my favorites. I've really enjoyed this, and its been and will be my pleasure to present chapter 8 and the rest of the story _Missing Ninjas._

I do not own Naruto…You all know Haruko and Yukiko would be in there somewhere if I did…

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Yukiko woke up to heat, unbearable heat and something sticky. On the edge of consciousness he heard ragged breaths, deep and heavy. His eyes opened slowly and soon focused on the form in front of him. Haruko's cheeks were a bright red, and a layer of sweat had gathered on her forehead. Her face was scrunched up in pain, eye brows furrowed and jaw clenched tightly The struggling breathes he had heard were coming from her, blowing in his face and were unnaturally hot. He stiffened, taking in her image before pulling the top layer of the sleeping bag away and jumping out. He ran over to their bags quickly searching through to find one of the first aid kits they had brought with them. He needed something to bring her fever down, and quickly.

When he returned she still hadn't stirred. He took her shoulders and shook them lightly, calling her name. Her eye lids fluttered and her head rolled over limply. Yukiko sighed and placed a cooling rag over her forehead before setting her head back down on their mock pillow softly. Taking fever tablets from the kit, he crushed them up and sprinkled them into the canteen of water her held in his hand. He put it to her lips, tipping it slightly for her to drink. But the water only dribbled down her chin, past her cheek.

"Haruko," he said "come on you need to dink."

Her eyes opened a bit, but were foggy and unseeing. He said her name again and she lifted her hand weakly to grasp the canteen, centering it over her mouth. She swallowed the water with slow drags, sighing and falling back down again when she had had her fill. He watched her as she lay in the damp sleeping bag, obviously in some kind of pain. This wasn't any kind of cold, or illness. Maybe and infection?

Quickly he went to the worst of her injuries from last night, a cut on her back close to her hip. It hadn't been very deep, but it was bleeding while the rest had merely been raw. But looking at it now, he saw not odd discoloration of any sign of it being swollen. His puzzlement returned.

"Haruko, what's wrong with you?" he said as he places his hand on her forehead.

A few minutes later the cloth was hot. He pealed it off and moved the blankets which Haruko had pulled up to her chin. He lifted her bridle-style through the tree and to the nearest source of water. Luckily it was close.

Yukiko stopped at a small lake, surrounded by trees, which then provided quite a lot of shade over the area. He kicked off his shoes and waded into the water. Once the water reached his knees he stopped. He looked down at Haruko, seeing her face in the same painful expression she had had earlier. He frowned, brushed the soaked hair from her forehead as he let her legs sink into the cool water. Yukiko's fingers brushed over the bright green curse seal, and came back quickly. The seal was especially hot.

"Yukiko," Haruko mumbled as she struggled in his loose hold.

The hand which was just at her forehead came and grabbed her hip, supporting her in the water. It kept her close to his body, too.

"Haruko, tell me what hurts," he said. (a/n: doesn't someone always ask that?)

"My head…my head is killing me."

She still had her eyes closed, wrenched shut with pain. But had she opened them, Yukiko knew they would still be glazed over with the haze of whatever illness had infected Haruko.

"I need to cool you down, okay? I need to put you in the water."

She didn't protest so Yukiko let go of her hip again and let her limbs float in the water. Yukiko moved his hand to her arm and took her hand. He moved deeper into the lake, so he could hold her easier and she could take advantage of the chilling water.

After quite a long time, Haruko's fever broke, although she still seemed stuck a the world Yukiko did not know. She was completely out of it, still with fever but a manageable and unthreatening one. He laid her down on the sandy shore of the lake and took the bag from Kana. He went through the items, finding the map and kneeling down next to Haruko.

"Where are we supposed to go? We have no idea where they live."

"Go around the edge…" Haruko mumbled.

"That will take forever, Haruko. Do you know how many people own farm land in Tea?"

"When did you become the smart on?" she groaned.

"They said it was remote, right?" Yukiko said to himself.

He heard Haruko say something, but couldn't understand a word of it.

"Well it can't be on the west side of Tea because they don't really have any flowers anymore. The same can be said for most of the south side. Your mom said something about flowers, right? Let's try and stay along the sides of the Northern and Eastern part of Tea, okay?"

More moaning and grumbling from Haruko.

He took in her form, blinking a few times in surprise when he realized that she was still in the clothes she had gone to bed in. Yukiko called to Kana, who was playing in the water, and picked Haruko up again. Once they were back at camp, Yukiko set her down by a tree and tapped her cheek lightly.

"Haruko, come on you need to get dressed."

After a moment of silence, Yukiko sighed and started dressing her. He smirked while he worked. Had it been any other situation Haruko would have protested until she was blue in the fact, even with it already being brighter than a beet. She hardly ever mentioned injuries when they were on missions, and only ended up in the hospital when Lee-sensei had seen a change in the way she walked or reacted to something.

Haruko's eyes suddenly opened wide, her face a ghostly white, and sat up. One hand fell to her stomach and the other covered her mouth. Yukiko sat in a shock for a moment before moving to place a hand on her shoulder. She pushed him away and threw up at the base of the tree. Yukiko frowned when he saw that it was mostly bile. He pressed the canteen to her lips when she had settled, telling her to drink.

Now she was dressed and half asleep, and Yukiko decided it was time to go. Yukiko used chakra to make Kana grow and put the bags on his back, putting out the fire and erasing every trace of their presence. He lifted Haruko and moved her to his back, carry her in a piggyback. Her head rested against his shoulder and he could feel the heat of her fever against his back.

He took off into the trees, holding Haruko tightly as he jumped from branch to branch. He felt her breath tickle his skin and every now and then it would make him shiver. She had moved one arm to lay over his other shoulder while the other dangled loosely at her side. Her hair was still down, and he was still amazed at how stunning it was in that golden light.

She shimmered, and was the most beautiful girl he had ever met. She was strong, and had determination that could sometimes rival even Kaito's. Haruko had a way with her that set him at ease. She was always there to listen to him, even if he chose not to talk. She had always been his friend, and he couldn't picture his life without her in it. He chuckled to himself now, thinking about all the younger children of Konoha. They would follow Haruko and himself as they walked home from training, calling them lovebirds and asking when they would get married. Haruko had always frowned and turned away, avoiding the kids as much as she could. Could she not picture herself with him?

But then again could he change the way things were? Did he want to lose her friendship over his feelings? Was she thinking the same things? Did she return his feelings?

He had never known Haruko to be a coward. She was always brave and stood up to what was unfair, and wrong. He felt hurt knowing that she was powerless against the Hyuga family, but had seen the look in her eyes after the attack in his house. She was determined to leave and figure out a way to get her revenge for all the pain she had suffered through her whole life.

Yukiko stopped a few times, letting Haruko down. She threw up a few more times, but he managed to get her to eat a few crackers he had taken from home. He touched her forehead again, feeling the fever. It had gotten worse again and he crushed more fever tablets. He got her to take them and cupped her face. She leaned into his hand, mumbling something about it's temperature. He went to move away, but her hand caught his, holding it in place.

"Let's stay a little longer," she mumbled. "Just like this."

"It's almost midnight, should we stop for the night?" he asked, more to himself than her.

"Yes," she was whispering, "you need to sleep."

"Okay," he yawned, wrapping his arm around her and pulling the sleeping bag over with his free hand.

He draped it around them, letting Kana snuggle in between them. Haruko's head fell onto Yukiko's shoulder again and they fell asleep.

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The next day was hard. Haruko's fever had returned and hadn't improved with the tablets. Yukiko's speed had increased out of worry for Haruko's health, and he had gone almost all over Northern Tea before his first break. He had asked a few people if they knew where he could find the village, but no one knew. Finally, when the sun was starting to sink, and the light was fading he felt a chakra her recognized. Once again his feet moved faster and he branched out his chakra to touch the others. The other's spiked, surprised and stunned. Yukiko broke out from the trees, right in the middle of a spar between Neji and Tenten.

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Tenten came running over as soon as Yukiko stopped. She took Haruko from him and patted him on the shoulder. Neji came over and looked down at him. He may have been giving him some kind of disapproving look, but Yukiko was too tired and relieved to care. He had found them, and maybe, somehow, Haruko would get better. Neji placed his hand on Yukiko's head, before going off to follow Tenten. Yukiko took deep breaths, taking in the area around him before collecting his chakra and following the two.

The house was of moderate size. The walls were painted different colors in each rooms, usually in yellows or reds. The floors were all wood, similar to his own. Yukiko didn't really register anything else in the house because he was too worried about Haruko. He followed Tenten blindly, nearly walking into a door when Tenten disappeared behind it. Neji stopped him from entering with a hand and a glare.

Yukiko slid down the wall and sat on the floor, defeated. He never knew being separated from Haruko would feel like this. He hadn't been very concerned when she first became sick, but when he fever continued he had unconsciously started panicking….Maybe he shouldn't have taken that break last night. He could have covered more ground had he not rested. Was it his fault that she was so sick now.

He could hear sounds in the distance. The were muffled, in the same kind of haze he had seen Haruko's eyes. The black tunnel that surrounded him slowly started to disappear and he looked up, sleep leaving his mind.

"She's going to be just fine," Tenten smiled at him, "The same thing happened to Neji a few months after we disappeared."

Yukiko looked up at her in disbelief. Haruko was okay…

"She's not gonna die?" Yukiko whispered.

"No, she's a tough kid." Tenten laughed, "You can go in and see her if you want."

"Okay, thanks" Yukiko stood, surprised to find his legs felt weak and walked into the room.

Haruko lay in the large bed, the thick covers making it look really comfortable. He sighed, happy to see she was okay. Tenten gave him a chair and he sat down next to the bed. She nodded her head, giving him another smile, this time a knowing smile, and left them alone.

Yukiko took her hand and lowered his head in exhaustion. He felt Haruko squeeze him back and looked up. She was looking straight at him, all fog and haze gone from her eyes. He smiled…

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She woke when the door closed, opening her eyes to see Yukiko sitting in a chair beside her. The bed and the room were unfamiliar, but nothing registered or mattered. She squeezed Yukiko's hand and nearly gasped when he looked at her. His eyes…they were so blue! She had never noticed them, and now she was completely caught up in them. She was lost, floating in whatever sea Yukiko held in his eyes. Suddenly a sensation washed over her, and she had no idea what it was. Her heart felt heavy and light at the same time, hot and cold as it beat. Her heart started to beat faster, overpowering whatever was in her mind to control her. She contemplated it for a moment before letting it. She had never had the freedom to follow the wishes of her heart before, and now seemed like the best time. So, she left the beating continue, embracing the confusing feeling that was running through her veins.

She saw him smile. The very sight made her heart flutter, and she smiled too.

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End of chapter 8! I hope you liked it…just wait till the next chapter. I have a whole bunch of stuff that will shake things up! Please review, it makes me update faster! XD


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9...hehe, I am still amazed at how great this story is doing. Thank you all!

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He held her hand as she slept, and would have been content to stay in that chair all night long, had Neji not come in and made him leave. Yukiko shrunk under his gaze and left the room quickly, following him down the hall with a small pile of folded clothes and a toothbrush in his hands. Neji gestured to room at the end of the hall telling him that it was his room. He then motioned to the bathroom, before leave Yukiko alone in the dark. After slipping into the clothes and brushing his teeth, Yukiko stared at the mirror. He was very tempted to go back to the room Haruko was in, but feared the wrath of Neji more than he cared to admit.

Now that he thought about it, he hadn't slept alone in four or five days. The feeling or Haruko's breath on his neck and warmth pressed against him made him sigh, eyes closed and perfectly happy to just remember. Her skin always seemed impossible soft for a ninja like herself, and she seemed proud of the scars on her body, unlike the others girls. She knew the reason for each, sometimes a bit mad at herself for carelessness, but still had a smile for each of them. Usually they were from surgeries after a mission or a mark of her hard training, but could have been from the actual missions themselves.

He sighed again, opening his eyes and looking at his image in the mirror instead of Haruko's in his mind. He splashed some water on his face before taking his toothbrush and turning off the light. He opened the door to his room, finding it very similar to Haruko's. The walls were a pale yellow, nearly white and the floors were a dark wood. The bed was set up against the wall, with the same thick white blankets that Haruko had. On the floor beside the bed was a plush rug, red in color with little birds adorning the edges. There was a window on the wall at the head of the bed, and he could see the moon from where he was standing no, against the door. Under the window was a little table with a glass of water. He placed his folded clothes on the table and moved the blankets aside. The warmth of the small cocoon quickly made his eyes lids heavy, and soon Yukiko was asleep.

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It was morning when Yukiko woke. He smiled when the memories of the last few days hit him. He got out of the bed and stretched, feeling very rested and ready for whatever the day would throw at him. He looked out the window, seeing that the house curved in a way that he could actually see Haruko's room. The curtains were drawn, but not all the way, and even though he had left the room and the window was closed now it was open. He smirked, knowing Haruko had opened it herself some time in the night. He gulped down the glass of water before moving the small table out of the way. He opened the window and climbed out, making his way over to Haruko's.

First he looked through the gap between the curtain, seeing that the lights were still off and that the bed had a lump in it. Yukiko opened the window further and climbed in, nearly knocking over the table that he also had in his room. He froze, hand ready to go up in surrender if anyone came through the door and watched the door for a few moments before relaxing. He looked over at Haruko, who was awake and now looking at him with a smirk.

"You should try and be a bit more careful when you're sneaking into someone's room." she said "That wasn't ninja-like at all."

"Yeah, well, you know me…" he chuckled, "How are you feeling?"

"Better," she sat up and moved over so he could sit. "How exactly did you find this place?"

"I just went around the whole of Tea," he joked, "You said something like that a few days ago."

"What, I was sick for a few days?!" she said.

"No, it was very long, maybe two at least…"

"At least!"

"No, I mean at most!" Yukiko corrected himself, waving his hands in the air.

"Hn…how am I supposed to know bad it was if you don't even know!"

"Ha! I know!…I had to carry you on my back! You're pretty heavy for a girl!"

"Heavy!? I'll show you heavy!"

She lunged at him, pressing his down on the bed and sitting on top of him. They grappled for a few minutes before one of them lost their balance and made them both fall to the ground. They ignored the sound, oblivious to the trouble it ma cause them. Again they started rolling around, laughing quietly. Finally, Haruko managed to get Yukiko's writs in her hands and sit on his stomach, straddling him. He smirked, flashing his fangs before shifting quickly so he was on top. The wrists that were once caught had moved with lightening speed and were now holding Haruko's wrists. They were above her head, and her legs were tangled in Yukiko's. He still wore his smirk, and lowered his head to whisper in her ear.

"I win." He lifted his head, seeming to think of something and moved to kiss her nose. "Better luck next time."

Haruko opened her mouth to say something, but the door stopped her. It opened and standing in the threshold was a little girl. She had the Hyuga bloodline and messy brown hair. She looked down at the two of them, confused and with a frown.

"Who are you?"

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To say that breakfast that morning was uncomfortable was definitely an understatement. Yukiko and Haruko had been frozen in shock, unable to answer the girl before she ran off to tell _mummy_. Once the girl was gone, Yukiko nearly jumped off Haruko, going around the room with his head in his hands.

"He's gonna kill me, Haruko. I'm gonna die!"

She didn't listen to him, she was staring at the door as she lie on the floor in the same position. The thought hadn't crossed her mind even once since she saw her parents again. They had continued to have children. They had a child, maybe even more, while she was stuck in the Hyuga Compound suffering. They never said a thing about her having siblings when they came to see her, and she never suspected. A feeling of complete abandonment washed over her at that moment, and her eyes began to burn. Letting her heart develop in the way it did in the night before had caused side effects that Haruko was not prepared for. She had never hurt like this, except for when she learned of her parents death. She didn't like all these new emotions that were overpowering her, she didn't like losing faith in the people she had believed in for so long.

Haruko gritted her teeth and rolled on to her side, resting her head on the ground as she kneeled on her knees. Her hands were in fists and she was trying to gain control over the emotions that she had so willingly accepted. She wanted to be her old self again, and then again she didn't. She was stuck, unable to decided if she wanted to continue to be this new person or regress into the shell she once was.

"Haruko, don't worry, he definitely won't hurt you." Yukiko patted her shoulder, oblivious to her inner conflict. "I should probably take this time to say goodbye."

She looked over at him, and the decision was easy. The things she had felt last night when she saw his eyes, almost for the first time, made her feel like she worth it. All the feelings she kept locked inside, all the fears and repressed memories were let go, filling her with the warmth and peace she had missing. Haruko stood, took his hand and squeezed it, before pulling him out the door and down the hall.

She followed the sounds, letting her feet take her where she needed to go. Haruko found herself walking fast when she finally got to the kitchen. She felt the smile spread out on her face when she took in the sight. It was more than she could have ever imagined.

Her father looked over his shoulder at them from the stove, hands continuing in whatever task he was doing. Tenten sat at the table, wearing a small smile and holding a cup of coffee in her hands. The little girl was there, feet swinging in the air as she sat in the large chair, waiting for breakfast. Then two others, a boy and a girl, sitting besides each other with the same shocked expression.

Yukiko coward behind Haruko, not looking away from the man with a spatula. Tenten laughed and stood from her chair, leaving the coffee on the table and coming over to Haruko. She took Haruko's shoulder's and pulled her into a hug whispering in her ear.

"It's really good to see you, little fish."

Haruko wrapped her arms around her mother, closing her eyes and etching the moment into her memory forever.

"Hn, its been a long time."

Tenten laughed, pulling away and looking over at Neji.

"Neji, she says Hn! She says it, just like you!"

Neji smiled, nodding his head and saying the same word before going back to the breakfast he was making.

Haruko stood still as Tenten motioned for the three children to come over. She was nervous, scared they wouldn't like her, and hoping they would act as though she had been here forever. They stood together, the little girl standing in front of her older brother and sister with her hands folded in front of her. She had chestnut colored hair, cut neatly just below her ears. It was messy at the moment, but a very cute case of bed head. She had Neji's complexion, a beautiful cream color with a few freckled on her cheeks from the sun. She wore purple pajamas that matched her eyes, which carried the Byackugan.

The other two were very similar in height, and close to Haruko's. Both had dark hair, the boy's was very short and a cowlick on his forehead made the front stick up. The girl's hair was just a little longer than her younger sister, and was just as messy, with a cowlick on top of her head. Both were also very tan, the boy more so than his sister. He held her hand as the two stood next to each other watching Haruko intently. The two also had the Byackugan. The girl wore a large T-shirt that was a dark blue color and loose black shorts. Her brother wore a black small T-shirt and long gray pants one of his hands stuffed in his pocket.

"Haruko, this is twins Miwa and Ryuu and our youngest Suzume." Tenten said as she pointed out each one. "Kids, this is Haruko and her friend Yukiko."

Haruko waved sheepishly finding it odd to meet her siblings when she was nearly 15 years old.

"Haruko-chan!" the three yelled as they broke from their formation and tackled her to the ground. She was lost in their huge hug and could hear their laughter in her ear as they held her tight. She hugged them back, laughing and smiling uncontrollably. How could she even consider that her siblings were ways to replace her? How could she have hated them for that split second back in her room? They were her family, the family that she had all the time in the world to get to know now.

"Alright, alright that's enough. Haruko was very sick yesterday, be careful." Neji said as he brought over a large plate of pancakes. "Okay, time to eat."

"Yeah!" the three yelled as they got back in their seats, pumping their fists in the air.

Yukiko helped Haruko off the floor and handed her a plate.

"You'll love these pancakes, onii-chan. Otto-san is really good at making them!"

"Yes, they look really good."

"Where is Kana?" Yukiko asked, mouth full of food.

"Oh, I set up a nice fluffy bed for him last night, maybe he is still asleep." Tenten said as she sipped her coffee.

Yukiko whistled. It was short and high, quiet but effective. A few moments later, Kana came trotting in looking very happy. The three little children looked down at him and nearly screamed. They were gone from their chairs in a matter of minutes and were rolling around on the ground with the puppy. Kana seemed happy with the attention and rolled along with them, barking playfully as the three sat on their hands and knees and mimicked him.

Neji watched in amusement and Tenten laughed. Haruko enjoyed watching the sight, and took it all in as she ate her food slowly. After a few minutes, Yukiko got out of his chair and stood over the kids.

"Wanna see something cool?" he asked.

The three nodded enthusiastically.

"Kana," Yukiko said as he held his hand out in the air, motioning for Kana to sit.

The little dog did as he was told and watched Yukiko's hand intently, as he dangled a piece of pancake. Yukiko lifted his hand a bit, and Kana stood on his hind legs. Haruko had seen them do this plenty of times before, but she always enjoyed watching it. Yukiko had a way with Kana that was just otherworldly. They were like the same being in two different bodies. They connected in a way Haruko did not understand. Yukiko clicked his tongue and threw the food in the air. Kana jumped at the exact moment Yukiko whistled and caught the pancake in midair. As he came back to the ground, Yukiko clapped his hands, and Kana grew into the big dog Haruko had come to love. The three children stared at amazement and began to play with Kana again, somehow making it out of the room and outside without eating any of their own pancakes.

Now they were alone. Neji, Tenten, Haruko, and Yukiko. Neji shot a look at Yukiko before going back to his food. Tenten stared talking and soon Haruko's pancakes were gone, and she was helping her mother clean, feeling like a little girl again.

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I hope you liked it! Please leave me a review, I really like them and they make me happy! So PLEASE review! Sorry for any mistakes! _


	10. Chapter 10

Don't have much to say about the response I got for the last chapter. I still have my faithful reviewer, but I was a little disappointed in how little I got for chapter nine. I will admit that that chapter was a bit lame, but I would have rather heard that instead of nothing. Please, at the end of this chapter, leave me a review…please!

I do not own Naruto…

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She tossed away the towel and turned, about to pull Yukiko outside with her for a while, but found that the room was empty. Haruko turned to Tenten and gave her a questioning look. Tenten laughed and put away a few more dishes before turning back to Haruko and taking her outside herself.

"I think Neji is having a little chat with Yukiko-san."

"A chat?" Haruko repeated, a bit of worry in her voice.

-

"Please sit," Neji said to the boy once he had closed the door leading to the small porch outside of his and Tenten's room.

Yukiko sat down wearily, and making sure to be as respectful as he could when he was around the older man. Neji sat down next to him and looked out at the large expanse he and Tenten owned. The flowers were still blooming and vibrant, but with the coming fall, they had lost some of their luster. The colors seemed liked an ocean, and with each coming breeze flowed like waves. Neji never got tired of this sight, even if he did miss Konoha. But this was his life now, and he was going to make the most of it. He turned to Yukiko as he spoke.

"You have known my daughter for quite a while, is that correct?"

"Yes, we were friends in the academy."

"I see…Now you are on her team?" Neji nodded. "Who is your sensei?"

"Rock Lee-san."

Yukiko saw Neji's eyebrows raise only the slightest bit. He stopped a laugh that crawled up his throat at the sight. It was just the same as Haruko's. Neji saw his reaction and looked down at him sternly.

"What's so funny?"

"Haruko makes the same face," he let out a chuckle.

"Hn," Neji smirked, "I've heard we are very similar lately."

"Yeah,"

"Lee…is he still wearing that suite?" Neji asked

"That green one?…yep." Yukiko nodded, looking out at the flowers when a light breeze swept past.

"He hasn't made Haruko, or any of you, wear it right?" Neji asked.

"No." Yukiko said "Haruko would flat out refuse if he ever did"

"You seem to know her well," Neji commented.

"We've been friends for a…a long time."

"You protect her n missions?"

"Yeah,"

"Is she reckless?"

"Yes!"

"Hn, I see. Haruko is stubborn…like me."

"I wouldn't say so, sir," Yukiko mumbled.

"She still lives in the compound. She thought she had no family, and acted without thought on missions. Haruko thinks she has nothing to live for…I can understand. I don't want her turning into the monster I was when I was her age… Yukiko, you must give her something to live for. She needs that reasons more then you can understand."

"But now that she has found you again, isn't that reason enough?" Yukiko asked.

"If she remains here, she won't be able to go on missions. She likes being a ninja, and the certain freedoms that comes with it. Trackers will eventually find this place and do whatever they have to do to follow their orders. I know she des not want to put her family in danger, especially considering that she had just found us again, but it is necessary. Her decision to leave will be very difficult, but she will do what she must. "

"We went through the marsh, we have a bit of time." Yukiko said.

Neji looked over, stunned. "I'm impressed. Tenten and I had trouble with those monsters and you don't seem to be injured at all."

"We did get out of there as fast as we could," Yukiko said. "Haruko was about to be mauled!"

"I can see you care for her-"

"Of course, she's like family-"

"No, not that kind of caring." he chuckled lightly. "I've been in your position before, Yukiko-san."

"Really?"

"Yes, and I think Haruko's handle on her feelings are just as tight as mine were." Neji said, "Tenten realized, much like you I'm sure, very early in our relationship, or whatever it was at the time how she really felt. I was in the dark for quite some time before it became clear."

"What am I supposed to do then? Wait until she sees it too?" Yukiko asked.

"Hn,"

"What if she never realizes it? Or if I tell her and she ends up hating me forever?!" Yukiko's head fell into his hands.

"The time will come," Neji said as he places his hand on Yukiko's shoulder. "I had to leave Haruko alone when she was very young. I never wanted that to happen, and I have always regretted it. She is very important to me, and if she was ever hurt in anyway I would do anything to ease her pain. Do you understand?"

"Yes sir,' Yukiko said, surprised by his change of tone.

"Now, I want you to tell me more about her," Neji said "I've missed at lot, I want to hear what kind of lady Haruko has grown into."

"Well, she not much of a lady, sir."

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Haruko sat in the shade of a tree watching as her little brother and sister played with Kana. Although fall was on its way it was still warm, and the sun still caste down hot rays of sun and made her feel uncomfortable. Breakfast had been a long time ago, and she still hadn't seen Yukiko. She began to worry about him…Maybe her father had overreacted considering the situation that happened that morning in her room. Maybe he was actually really mad…

Now that she thought about it more, a blush rose to her cheeks. Yukiko had been so close, he had whispered in her ear. Her body was pressed against his, and both of them were breathing heavily. Haruko squeezed her eyes shut, trying to shake the feelings away, but they only became stronger. Her hands were clenched into fists, knuckled white. She would have screamed, had a loud voice not shaken her from her thoughts.

"Onii-chan!"

They came running over, Kana following close behind, barking happily.

"Let's play! Let's play!" one of them grabbed her hand and pulled her up.

"What will we play?"

"Hide and seek!"

She smirked. A game of hide and seek with a Hyuga was quite a game indeed. A Hyuga playing hide and seek with a group of children without the Byakugan would be able to see everything, but when all the children playing had the Byakugan then they all used their bloodline. After a few years of practice and ingenuity they had learned that everyone had the same blind spot. The game had then evolved into the one it was today, staying hidden within someone else's blind spot. But now the one that was seeking had to tone their skills and know how to use their blind spot to their advantage.

"Okay who wants to be it?" Haruko asked

"Usually Suzume is it first," Miwa said, "me and Ryuu hide together."

Haruko smiled, "Okay, well, I'll be it. I want to see how good you guys are."

"Okay!" All three pumped their fists in the air,.

"Don't underestimate us!"

Haruko turned around, covered her eyes and started counting. The three disappeared and skirted around the area in different patterns. Haruko waited long enough for the three to settle and turned. She activated her byackugan. She saw them immediately, but before she pointed them out they moved and were in her blind spot. Quickly she turned and saw them again before they disappeared. Soon she found their pattern, and smirked. Haruko turned and before they disappeared she moved, into the spot she knew they would go next. Right as Ryuu and Miwa stopped in their spot, she grabbed them by their collars.

"Gotcha," she said

"Man!" they sighed "You're much better than Suzume…"

"I am older,"

"Okay, we need to go get dressed," the two said and Haruko let them go.

They left and now Haruko was left scanning the area for Suzume. She was very fast, and seemed to learn quickly. Finally, Haruko found her and was able to intercept her jumping.

"Very good, Suzume. I'm impressed."

"Thanks onii-chan! I only wish I had lasted a little longer."

"You did very well. Now let's go get something to drink." Haruko said "Come one I'll give you a piggy back."

-

When they got back, Suzume and Haruko separated briefly to get dressed as well, and joined each other back in the kitchen. Miwa and Ryuu were also there, and already had two glasses and a pitcher of juice out on the table. Haruko sat down and poured herself and Suzume a glass.

Haruko took a sip and found it to be very sour. Her eyes squinted and her mouth puckered. She chuckled once the liquid had gone down her throat. Suzume quivered from the juice as well, but not as much as Haruko. She looked up and watched the twins.

"Okay, let's race." Miwa said

"Yeah, first to finished without making a face wins." Ryuu said

The two grabbed their glasses and downed the juice quickly. Both finished at the same time, and with fat cheeks watched the other to see if they made a face. Slowly they swallowed the juice. Then, Miwa's eyes twitched.

"You lose!" Ryuu said, a bit of the juice running out from the side of his mouth.

"Hey!" Miwa punched his shoulder, "Respect your elders!"

"Elder! I'm the older one!" Ryuu said

"No, it's me!"

"Huh?" Haruko turned to Suzume.

"Oka-san and Otto-san don't know who came out first."

"Really?" Haruko laughed.

"Alright, let's go again!" The two shouted, pouring more juice and drinking it again.

Yukiko came running in. "I smell something really sweet!"

Haruko poured him a glass and watched as his face shrunk, laughing.

"Wow! That has a kick!"

Neji had followed him, and was now watching the twins competition. Haruko finished her juice and sighed. Neji placed his hand on he shoulder and spoke.

"Haruko, I would like to see your progress. Let's spar."

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Haha, okay so a little bit of a cliffy! Please review, and that way you'll get the next chapter sooner! Thank you!

Also I have the meanings of the names if anyone wants to know…

Miwa: Far seeing

Ryuu: Dragon

Suzume: Sparrow


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11...sorry for such a late update, but school has really been a pain. I've probably had more than ten projects and papers due over the last week. Anyway, I'll stop talking and you can start reading chapter 11.

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Her mission had been going just as planned until she was stopped by a messenger nin. Learning about Yukiko's disappearance had sobered her up pretty fast. She tossed the small bottle of liquor and followed the messenger nin back home to Konoha. Ino went back home immediately, searching through the house frantically to find anything that would giver a clue as to where Yukiko had gone. Not having him around gave Ino a strange feeling, and she regretted all those nights she had left him alone. What kind of a mother had she been? Was it her fault that he was gone?

After a day of searching through the village Ino was at the end of her rope. She had no other option other than to go to the best tracker in the village. But he had made himself scarce over the years, and he was the one person Ino did not want to see. Kiba Inzuka.

The two had a lot in common. Kiba had been head over heals for the Hyuga heiress, Hinata, and Ino had that unrequited love for one of her teammates. They had both lost their loves to other people and after a night out on the town, the two had gotten into a few things that resulted in Ino's present circumstance. After that night, Ino never saw Kiba again. He had moved out to the outskirts of the village and hardly ever came back into the main part of the village.

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She stood in front of his door now, hand hovering above the hard wood. Finally it connected and soon she heard footsteps approach. Kiba opened the door and wore his usual grave look. He was surprised to see Ino at the door, but it didn't show. After a moment and seeing the look in her eyes, Kiba let her in. He walked over to the large couch that sat in front of a large window and sat down. Ino sat down on the other side of the couch. He found it odd that she was being so distant. Had something happened to her to completely change that way she was when they were young?

"So what's wrong?" he asked

"I need you to find someone for me," she answered.

"I don't really do that stuff anymore, Ino," he said.

"Yeah, I know, But you have a connection with this person."

"It's not Hinata is it?!" Kiba said as he quickly sat up straight."

"No," Ino said "It's your son."

"I don't have any children, Ino." he scoffed.

"Yes you do. He's my son, and your son."

"That night?…" he began.

"Yes."

"Why didn't you ever tell me?!" Kiba yelled "He's grown up without a father! He probably thinks I abandoned him!"

"No, Kiba, I never really thought about how Yukiko felt. I was still hurt over Shikamaru. I left him alone!" Ino sobbed, "And now he's gone!"

"Ino," Kiba moved closer and patted her on the shoulder. "I'll help find him, and I will find him. I promise."

"Thank you, Kiba," she wiped away some of tears, "Thank you."

She heard a bark, and a very large Akamaru trotted over. He nudged Kiba's knee, and Kiba scratched his ear.

"Yukiko has a little dog just like you did when we were kids." Ino said "His name is Kana."

"Does he have the tattoos?" Kiba asked.

"Yeah," Ino sighed "He almost looks exactly like you except for his eyes. He has my eyes."

"Can he use that technique you have?" Kiba asked

"No, I never taught him."

"But what about your dad?"

"I haven't talked with my parent since before Shikamaru left."

"Then how is as a ninja?"

"Really good, he tied for second place." Ino said "Tied with the other boy on his team. In first is the girl on his team."

"Wow," Kiba said "Must have gotten all that talent from me,"

"He likes to fit with his Katana," Ino said.

"Who's his sensei?"

"Lee,"

"Oh no," Kiba said "He Hasn't worn one of those suits has he?"

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"Let's spar," Neji said.

Haruko smirked. "Don't underestimate me," she said.

"Hn,"

Haruko hurried to her room, and grabbed a few weapons. She hid them on her person and looked through her bag again for anything else she could use. She took a few exploding tags, which only made small controllable explosions, and a handful of throwing stars. Before leaving she turned back to her bag and took out a medium scroll, and stuffed it in her pocket with a smirk. She hurried back to the kitchen to find everyone gathered around the table. Tenten had Neji's collar in her hand and his face was pulled down to match her level. Everyone looked over at Haruko when she entered.

"Haruko, was your's or your father's idea to spar?" Tenten asked.

Haruko took a quick glance at her father before answering Tenten. "Mine,"

"I thought you would say that," Tenten said, "Just please be careful, you might be a little weaker because of the seal."

"Hn,"

Tenten let go of Neji and Haruko followed him outside. He took her past the tree she had sat under after breakfast and into a large training area. The perimeter of the area was surrounded by trees, large trees that seemed to touch the sky. They were all very wide and Haruko was mesmerized by them. She stared at them as she walked behind her father, nearly bumping into his back a few times as a result.

"Haruko, are you ready?" Neji asked when the two had finally stopped.

Haruko got into position and nodded her head. "Yes,"

Haruko waited for him to make the first move, but it looked like he wasn't going to at all. Quickly she grabbed a kunai from her pocket and tossed it at him. He swatted it away and began his dance. Chakra flared around him, and as he moved forward, Haruko increased her chakra as well. His arm came down at her once he was in reaching distance, and she blocked it with one of her own. She swung her other hand at him, nearly hitting his side but he moved away before she could get him. Haruko pulled out a few more weapons, and threw them in quick succession. Then she took one of the exploding tags and threw it near his feet. It exploded on impact and while Neji was distracted, Haruko pulled out her scroll.

Neji looked back up and saw her unrolling it. His eyes softened and he smiled lightly. Haruko bit her thumb before a cloud of metal shot out from the paper. They all flew directly at Neji, and he started his Kaiten. Haruko smirked and rushed forward. When she was close enough, and nearly being blown away by her father's Kaiten, she started her own. It went in the opposite direction, and soon was hitting the edge of Neji's. Haruko increased her chakra and her Kaiten grew, pushing Neji's away slowly. His Kaiten pushed back, and Haruko felt her chakra depleting fast. That stupid curse seal had really made her weak. She needed to train while she was here, and get her strength back up. Haruko gave one final push against his barrier and it yielded. A blast of chakra hit the trees, and cleared them of almost all their leaves. Neji hit the ground a few feet away from where he was standing, and Haruko collapsed .

"Haruko!"

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"Come in,"

"Sorry to interrupt you, sir, but someone is here to see you."

"Who is it?" Naruto looked up from his paperwork.

"Ino Yamasaki, and Kiba Inzuka."

"Okay…send them in," he said

Ino and Kiba came in soon after. They bowed and stood in front of Naruto with grim looks.

"Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"Yukiko is missing," Ino said.

"Yeah, I know. Same with Haruko." Naruto looked down for a moment before looking over at Kiba. "But why are you here?"

"I come to learn some new information recently, Naruto-sama." Kiba said as he gritted his teeth.

"What?" Naruto looked confused.

"Ino told me that Yukiko is my son," Kiba nearly yelled.

"What! Really!" Naruto stood quickly, the chair he was sitting on fell to the floor.

"That's not important right now!" Ino said "We need to find Yukiko!"

"I know you're concerned, Ino, and so am I. Don't forget Haruko is missing too."

"She's probably the one who took him away. He's head over heels for that girl, and she takes advantage of him whenever she can!" Ino yelled.

"Ino!"

"She doesn't matter! There's no one left for her here anyway! I'm waiting for Yukiko! I'm here for him!"

"Ino!" Naruto said again "You have no right to say what your saying. Haruko has gone through more than you could ever imagine, and Yukiko has suffered more than you seem to realize. You have never been home with him, and he come back from a mission to an empty house. Haruko has been the one that was there for him! Those two need each other! So if it was Haruko's idea to leave or if the two were kidnapped some way, Yukiko probably went on his own will to help Haruko."

"I'm sorry Naruto, I'm panicking, and I Haven't had a drink in three days."

"Good, let's keep it that way." Naruto said. "I'll send you two and another team to find the two, but don't carried away."

"Thank you Naruto,"

"I'm only sending you because I don't want to deal with you here. Who's to say you won't go on a rampage if a team takes longer than you want to find them…"

"Naruto!"

"Kiba take care of her, she'll go threw withdrawal pretty bad. She's been drinking since Yukiko was born."

"Don't worry about it," Kiba said.

"I'll get everything ready and send you the files as soon as I can. Any Questions?"

"How is Hinata?" Kiba asked

"She's good…" Naruto answered slowly. "She misses you, though."

"Yeah,"

"When you all get back, we'll have a big party. Okay?" Naruto said.

"Okay," Kiba said.

The two left and Naruto was alone again with his pile of papers. With a sigh, he picked up his pen and took a sheet off the stack.

"It's just one thing after another here," he sighed.

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End of chapter 11. I hope you like it! Please leave a review! XD

You know, I think I should change the title for this story…Something like _Reunited_ or _Finding Family _because that's seems to be happening with everyone…But Now we all know who Yukiko's dad is, and a bit more insight on Ino's problems…Anyway, please review! Sorry for any mistakes…


	12. Chapter 12

This chapter is so late because I didn't get any reviews…But I had some fun writing it, and it only took me a few hours…Sorry for the delay…if anyone is still reading…

I do not own Naruto.

Recap:

"Haruko, are you ready?" Neji asked when the two had finally stopped.

Haruko got into position and nodded her head. "Yes,"

Haruko waited for him to make the first move, but it looked like he wasn't going to at all. Quickly she grabbed a kunai from her pocket and tossed it at him. He swatted it away and began his dance. Chakra flared around him, and as he moved forward, Haruko increased her chakra as well. His arm came down at her once he was in reaching distance, and she blocked it with one of her own. She swung her other hand at him, nearly hitting his side but he moved away before she could get him. Haruko pulled out a few more weapons, and threw them in quick succession. Then she took one of the exploding tags and threw it near his feet. It exploded on impact and while Neji was distracted, Haruko pulled out her scroll.

Neji looked back up and saw her unrolling it. His eyes softened and he smiled lightly. Haruko bit her thumb before a cloud of metal shot out from the paper. They all flew directly at Neji, and he started his Kaiten. Haruko smirked and rushed forward. When she was close enough, and nearly being blown away by her father's Kaiten, she started her own. It went in the opposite direction, and soon was hitting the edge of Neji's. Haruko increased her chakra and her Kaiten grew, pushing Neji's away slowly. His Kaiten pushed back, and Haruko felt her chakra depleting fast. That stupid curse seal had really made her weak. She needed to train while she was here, and get her strength back up. Haruko gave one final push against his barrier and it yielded. A blast of chakra hit the trees, and cleared them of almost all their leaves. Neji hit the ground a few feet away from where he was standing, and Haruko collapsed .

"Haruko!"

She awoke, but didn't open her eyes. Around her she could feel cool blankets, and a breeze hitting her face. Through her eyelids she could see the shining sun. Birds chirped and the trees made tiny noises as they swayed in the wind. She sighed contently, about to open her eyes when she felt a familiar chakra. Yukiko put his hand on Haruko's and Pumped his chakra to her. Her arm glowed for a moment before she gripped his hand back. Haruko opened her eyes slightly, and took in his form. She smiled, moving her hand up to his forearm. He leaned forward as she moved her lips, pretending to try and speak, and when he was close enough, she pulled his arm roughly. He fell on top of her, and they both laughed. Yukiko moved next to her, and rested against the same pillow as her, still holding her hand.

"Got you," she said.

"Ha, I let you get me," Yukiko replied .

"Where's Kana?" she asked.

"Playing with the twins, I think," Yukiko said.

"Oh," she paused, then stiffened. "Quick, get up!"

"Why, I'm comfy," he wined.

"Suzume," Haruko replied as she untangled herself from him and tried to get out of the bed quickly.

"Careful," he said, helping her. "You're still weak from losing all that chakra."

"I'm fine," she said between gritted teeth. "I don't need help."

"Yeah right," Yukiko said, head propped up on one arm and the other resting on his side as he watched Haruko move.

Haruko felt his gaze, but stared away from it. She pushed her hair off her shoulders with a heavy sigh before digging through her pockets to find something to tie her hair with. When she did, she twisted her hair into a neat bun, letting her bangs fall in front of her face.

"Why did you do that?" asked Yukiko.

"It was in the way, and we aren't hiding right now," she said.

"But it was so pretty," he sighed under his breath.

Then the door was pushed open and Haruko and Yukiko both stared. Suzume smiled at them, and waved to Haruko.

"Are you feeling better, onii-chan?"

"Yes, thank you," Haruko said.

Suzume smiled again and look over to the bed, where Yukiko was still laying. She ran over and jumped up with him. Yukiko laughed as Suzume sat on top of him, acting as though she had won something. Haruko watched with a small smile.

"I give up, I'm no match for the great Suzume!" Yukiko said.

"Yukiko-san?" Suzume asked as she got off, and he sat up "Are you going to stay here forever with onii-chan?"

"Maybe," he said.

"I want you to stay!" she said loudly.

"Okay, I'll try," Yukiko said.

"Come on, come play with me and onii-chan!" She said, pulling Yukiko off the bed, and then taking Haruko's hand as well as she ran out of the room.

The team now consisted of Ino, Kiba with Akamaru, Lee, Naruto's two sons, and Kaito. They were making good progress, and none of them seemed to want to stop, except Masaru. Had he not been with them, several breaks would have been missed, and they would have been much further. Akamaru was able to pick up their sent easily for most of the way, and had a bit of trouble when they came to a village. So many people crowded the streets that Haruko and Yukiko's scents were nearly gone. Then they came to the marsh. They stopped and decided how to proceed.

Masaru, of course, wanted to go through the marsh think that he could handle whatever was thrown at him. Fumio was concerned about time, and only wanted to go through the marsh to save it, but was weary of the things inside. Kaito was completely indifferent, and only wanted to continue so that he could beat some sense into his two teammates. Finally they decided to go for it.

They went quickly, encountering a few monsters on the way. Masaru suffered a bad scratch, but that was all the injuries in the group. It was quite a blow to his ego. Once past the marsh, they took a long rest.

"That was rash, Masaru," Fumio scolded.

"Don't tell me what to do," Masaru grumbled.

"Shut your mouth, you ingrate!" Kiba said from across the camp. "You'd be dead if it wasn't for your brother."

"It was luck!" Masaru shouted.

"No, it was skill, which you don't have." Kiba said. "How did you even get to the levee of chuniin?"

Masaru was quiet for a long time.

After a while, they started off again. After a day of traveling almost nonstop, they made it to the Village of Tea.

It was dark, but all five of them plus Kana were still outside. None of them were effected by the lack of light, so the games they played went on and on. They laughed until their stomach's hurt, and ran until they were out of breath. Haruko and Yukiko had lived without siblings their entire lives, and having some now was amazing. Even if he wasn't related to them, Yukiko felt a kind of connection to these little kids, and really enjoyed the time he was having with them. But, none of that compared to the time he was having with Haruko.

Being here had changed her, and for the better. She wasn't staring blankly anymore, or replying with one syllable words. She genuinely seemed to be happy. He'd never seen her like this before.

They decided to play hide and seek, but since they had Yukiko, it was going to be a regular game. Suzume started counting and the rest of them rushed into the dark to hide. Yukiko took Haruko's hand and pulled her into a dense patch of trees. He fit them between a clump with only a few feet of space, pressing himself against her. Both of their hearts were beating quickly, but not because of the running.

From their spot they could see the full moon and a bright patch of stars shining in the sky. Kana had followed the twins, having taken a liking to them, and now Haruko and Yukiko were alone. He ran his hand up her arm, wishing that he was feeling her skin. He pulled her close, and whispered in her ear.

"Haruko, you seem really happy here. Are you going to stay?"

"No, but I might come back," she whispered back, face flushed from their closeness.

"Will you leave me back in Konoha?" he asked.

"No," she said. "You'd end up following me, I'm sure."

"So you wouldn't wan to take me?" he asked.

"No, I wouldn't feel right if you weren't with me," she said.

"Why?"

"You're…You're part of me, Yukiko. You're very special to me."

"Really?"

"Yes,"

"You're special to me too," he mumbled, blushing. "I don't think I would be the same person without you, I-"

"Yukiko?" she interrupted.

"What?"

"Stop talking.

"Why?" he asked.

"So I can kiss you," she said.

She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down to her. Her lips crashed onto his. They were still for a long moment, waiting for the other to move first. Then Yukiko pushed back at her, and they started moving. It was clumsy, but the two didn't know any different. Haruko moved her hands to the back of his neck, and he out one hand on her cheek. She bit his bottom lip and he gasped. With a smirk she moved her tongue against his. They kissed each other until they needed to separated, gasping for air. Both had wide smiles and red cheeks.

Then they were called in to eat, and hurried from their hiding spot hand in hand.

They were back on track again. Akamaru found Yukiko and Haruko's scent once again and now they were all moving quickly. Ino worried, because Yukiko's scent was easy to follow. Something must have happened to make him move quickly, forgetting to cover his tracks. She knew they would find them soon, but for now they needed rest. She most of all. Getting Yukiko to trust her again, and to come back home would be a big challenge, especially if Haruko wasn't going to come with him.

The two were lucky not to be included in the list of missing ninjas that had a group of trackers or ANBU after them. But Naruto had been reluctant to included most people on that list. After the whole thing with Sasuke's, Naruto always gave people more than one chance. Once Lee had heard about everything and had Kaito with him, they two had demanded to go along. Lee was concerned for his students, and Kaito angry at the fact that they had run away. He even told Naruto that he would drag them back unconscious if her had to. Naruto had smiled at that.

Fumio was worried about Haruko the same day she disappeared. He heard the commotion she had Hiashi had the night before and told his father as soon as he could. Naruto remembered how close Fumio and Haruko had been when they were young, and how close they were still. He was happy to send his oldest son. But, he didn't know why Masaru wanted to go as well. Masaru and Haruko never really liked each other, and as Masaru pleaded with his father to go on the mission, Naruto was very confused. He allowed it, but was a bit suspicious.

"_Masaru, I need to you go on that mission," Hiashi told his grandson._

"_Why?" Masaru asked._

"_Brach members should not question authority, my son."_

End of chapter 12. I hope you liked it! Sorry for any mistakes. It's a bit of a cliffy, so I hope it gets me more reviews! Thanks for reading, now just leave me a review!


	13. Chapter 13

New chapter, yah! I hope you enjoy…

I don't own Naruto…sadly…

It was early. So early in fact that the sun hadn't even filled the sky. The moon still stayed with a few stars lingering. The air was cold and the light was little, but Haruko was awake. She was ready for the day, clothed and excited. She wanted to train. Carefully she snuck out of her room, ready with weapons and scrolls, and crept down the hall to Yukiko's room. She opened his door and poked her head in. She smiled as she saw his form comfortably resting under the large blankets, and Kana's head popping up from the pile.

Haruko put a finger to her lips, quieting Kana before he could make any noise in his excitement to see her, and tiptoed over to the two. She lifted the blankets, placing her bag of weapons down on the floor, and climbed in. She wrapped her arms around Yukiko and waited for him to stir. She pressed against him and felt the large sigh travel through his body. He turned his head and smiled at her.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

"I want to go out and train," she whispered back.

"But it's so early," he argued.

"Are you that tried?" she asked.

"Kissing you took a lot out of me, deary," he said as he turned to face her and kissed her on the forehead.

"Oh really?" she said as she went to take his shirt, but found he wasn't wearing one. She blushed and looked away.

"Are you blushing?" he asked amused. "Does my shirtless chest make you uncomfortable?"

"No," she lied, trying to scoot away but only being pulled closer.

"Don't lie to me, Haruko."

"I've just never been in the same bed as you when you're like this," she said.

"You make it sound so bad," he laughed.

"It's not! Really, it's not," she stuttered.

"So you like it," he purred. "I knew you would."

"Stop, you're embarrassing me," Haruko blushed.

"But you're so cute when you blush." He kissed her again.

She wasn't satisfied with a kiss on the forehead. She put her hand on his cheek, and pulled him forward. His lips crashed down on hers and they began their new dance. They stopped to breath, and Yukiko looked down at Haruko with a blazing smile.

"I'm awake, but I still don't want to get up," he said. "let's just stay here a little longer."

"Okay," Haruko gasped.

She moved closer. And that's when her eyes lids began to get heavy.

They were close. He could feel it. The anticipation ran through him like blood, and he sat itching, ready to fight. He'd wanted this for much longer than he thought. The ideas of learning the curse seal from his grandfather had been a driving force behind Masaru's training for much of his life, and now he was literally shaking with effort to keep it quiet. They were close, so close he could almost hear them.

The group had stopped to make camp a while ago, and none other than Masaru had noticed their close proximity to the two missing nins. As he collected things for the fire, he smiled to himself, becoming sick with all his want. His love for his grandfather and his clan overshadowed his normal thoughts, and now the only thing running through his head was how much pain he would cause Haruko. Her resistant to the clan's word would be forever diminished after he was finished. Masaru would do the job his grandfather never could. He was sure of it.

"Kaito-kun, why do you look so unyouthful?" Lee asked his student.

"Haruko and Yukiko left the village, sensei," he said "They've betrayed us."

Lee paused, finding truth in Kaito's words. "You can't lose faith in them, Kaito. Hokage-sama never lost faith in Sasuke-san and look what happened."

"That was different, sensei. We don't know why they left. We don't know what they're doing!"

"Kaito-kun," Lee put his hand on his shoulder.

"If I hadn't been on that mission, I could have stopped them!" he shouted "I could have gone with them."

"Kaito!" Lee shouted back "it is true that we don't know why they are gone, but you don't know if you could have stopped them. If you left Konoha would be without it's most successful team. What would happen to the village if it was left without you, my fine student?"

"They left! They were the best and they left. What good am I alone?" Kaito said "They left us. They left me."

"Be patient," Lee soothed "We will know soon enough."

She blinked the sleep away and pulled herself out of Yukiko's warm embrace. He frowned at her, and resisted as she took his arm and pulled him out of the bed. Once the two were finally up, dressed and weapon ready, they went outside to train. Their spar lasted for a long time, both became dirty and sweaty and were breathing hard, but still smiling.

Haruko used the gentle fist technique and Yukiko dodged with ease. Haruko used her weapons, and Yukiko blocked with his own. After a while Haruko frowned. He wasn't even trying to hit her!

"Yukiko!" she shouted "Hit me!"

"Haruko," he sighed.

"I'm not fragile. This is a spar."

"You're fragile to me," he said.

"Just fight me!"

She threw more hits at him, and then finally he hit back. She smiled and they were back to their normal routine again.

"Don't they remind you of us when we were that age?" Tenten said to Neji as they two watched from their window.

"Yes," he smiled.

"I never thought those two would be such close friends," Tenten laughed. "I would have let her play with him more if I did."

"How did they meet? We were gone just after she started in the academy." Neji asked.

"Me and Ino saw each other when we were grocery shopping once, before she started taking missions again. She had Yukiko with her." Tenten smiled again. "Haruko took a liking to him almost as soon as she saw him."

"Hn,"

_It was hot in Konoha, as Tenten sat in the kitchen fanning herself with a paper plate. Little Haruko sat on the floor, drawing pictures. Crayons were sprawled around her, and each piece of paper was covered in colors. There wasn't even a inch of white on a single sheet. Tenten sat with a smile, watching Haruko's hands and seeing the potential for another great Weapons Mistress. Haruko's hair was short and messy, failing in front of her eyes before being pushed away by a chubby little hand. Haruko hummed happily as she drew, swaying back and forth with the music she created. Tenten smiled more._

"_Haruko, let's go to the store." Tenten sighed, not prepared to leave the cooler shelter of her home to go outside._

"_Yeah!" Haruko shouted, jumping up and over to the door._

"_Slow down," Tenten said "It's too hot."_

_Haruko giggled as she sat back down on the floor and pulled on her shoes. Tenten slipped on her own and opened the door, taking Haruko's hand as they two walked down the hall together._

"_So what do you want for supper?" Tenten asked._

"_Noodles," Haruko answered._

"_Again?"_

"_Yeah!" Haruko looked up at her mother. "Please?"_

"_Alright," Tenten gave in. She couldn't say no to that face._

_Like most of the other people on the street that day, Tenten kept herself and Haruko in the shade for as long as she could. Hopefully the grocery store's air conditioner would be working today, and they could get a break from this heat. Although, as Tenten looked down at Haruko, it seemed the little girl didn't mind it. She held on to Tenten's hand tightly and took a few quick steps to match the pace of her mother, and wore her cute little smile. Her eyes were bright, and she waved at almost everyone that passed. _

_Finally the two reached the grocery store, and entered. A cool breeze swept over them, and Tenten sighed in relief. _

"_Oranges! Let's get oranges, Oka-san!" Haruko said. "And watermelon!"_

"_Okay, okay," Tenten smiled "Go pick some out."_

_Haruko hurried over and stared at the oranges carefully. Sometimes she'd pick one out, look at it some more and either put it back or toss it into the plastic bag in her hands. _

"_Oranges!" _

_Tenten heard a loud shout and looked behind her. A little boy with messy brown hair and red triangles under his blues eyes rushed past her, and stood beside Haruko. Tenten smiled and turned to look behind her again. Ino rushed out from one of the isles and looked back and forth. Once she spot Yukiko, she sighed and started over. Then she saw Tenten._

"_Tenten!" she shouted, pulling her into a hug._

"_Ino, good to see you."_

"_Yeah, same here!" she said "So how is everything?"_

"_Good, good. You?"_

"_Good," Ino smiled. "Is that Haruko?"_

"_Yeah," Tenten said._

"_Oh my gosh she got so big!" Ino's hands went to her face as she stared.._

"_And is that Yukiko?" Tenten asked._

"_Mmhm," Ino nodded._

"_What a cutie!"_

"_Oranges!" Yukiko said again._

_Little Haruko looked over at the boy and smiled, he smiled back. Haruko gave him the orange in her hand, the one she had inspected and would have out into her bag. _

"_Do you like watermelon?" she asked._

"_Yeah!"_

_She grabbed his hand and they to ran down the fruit isle to the section of watermelon. Yukiko tapped them while Haruko pressed her ear to each one, and he two decided which were the best. They tried to it them into a bag, but could hardly lift them . Yukiko held one dangerously close to the ground as Haruko tired to fit a bag around it. She encouraged him to keep it from falling, telling him that they couldn't lose such a good watermelon. Soon Tenten and Ino came over and helped them, laughing at their children._

"_But it wasn't heavy, Oka-san!" Yukiko said._

"_Okay little man, I believe you."_

"_Oka-san, can we go to the playground?" Haruko asked, pulling on Tenten's pant leg._

"_Oh, but its so hot," Tenten sighed._

"_Come to my place," Ino said. "we have a nice fancy air conditioner."_

"_Yah!" Haruko and Yukiko sang._

End chapter. Sorry it's short, but I didn't really know what to write for this story, and sorry for a late update…I hope you liked it anyway. Please review…


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